Asthma Information
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New Information - Click on the highlighted text below to review articles recently printed on Asthma as well as information on outdoor sporting events when wildfire smoke is present (the articles will load in a printable and readable format (Adobe PDF).
May is Asthma Awareness Month
The American Association of School Administrators is committed to improving the lives of children through their health and wellness programs and resources. Since May is Asthma Awareness Month, we would like to highlight some facts, figures and activities:
Facts About Asthma
- Asthma is a leading chronic illness among children and youth in the United States.
- Asthma is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism.
- In 2002, 14.7 million school days were missed due to asthma.1
- In 2003, five million school-aged children and youth were reported to currently have asthma
- 3.1 million children had an asthma episode or attack within the previous year.2
- On average, in a classroom of 30 children, about three are likely to have asthma.
- Low-income populations, minorities and children living in inner cities experience more emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths due to asthma than the general population.3
- Asthma attacks, also referred to as episodes, can be caused by tobacco smoke, dust mites, furred and feathered animals, certain molds, chemicals and strong odors in the school environment.
How can your district celebrate Asthma Awareness Month?
AASA receives funding to work on asthma and other related issues, including:
Asthma Leadership Project -- This project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control, focuses on building the capacity of school leaders to be proactive and take initiative on building asthma-friendly schools policies. Read more about our project. Resources available to you include:
- Do you have questions about asthma? Read Questions School Leaders Frequently Ask About Asthma.
- How well does your district do to address the needs of students with asthma? Find out with AASA’s Powerful Practices document (PDF).
- For a basic primer education on asthma, read the Spring 2003 edition of School Governance & Leadership.
- Does your school have a tobacco-free schools policy? What goes into a tobacco-free schools policy? Download a Fact Sheet (PDF) from the Campagin for Tobacco Free Kids.
- Asthma, diabetes, mental health, childhood obesity, and other factors all affect a child’s ability to learn in the classroom.
Healthy School Environments -- The indoor air quality of your district’s schools is also of utmost importance – for students and staff both with and without asthma. AASA’s Healthy Schools Environment Project works with districts large and small to brainstorm ways to work together to improve the indoor air quality of all schools.
The Urban and Rural Healthy Schools Coalitions meet annually to discuss the unique needs of their districts.
All districts have the opportunity to improve their indoor air quality through the free, comprehensive assessment tool from the Environmental Protection Agency called Tools for Schools. The kit has many useful components to help schools and school districts design and implement their IAQ programs.
Health is interrelated and should be treated as such. Asthma does not stand alone as a chronic disease issue. Combining issues into one comprehensive chronic disease policy may be something your district wants to look at more in-depth, if it does not already have a policy in place. However, each disease is unique and should be recognized for its own issues and special cases. For example, are students with asthma allowed to self-carry their medicines?
There are a wealth of resources and information available to school leaders to help address asthma and the school environment. Contact Kelly Beckwith at kbeckwith@aasa.org if you would like more information about this important topic.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication "Resources for Addressing Asthma in Schools" lists valuable resources (including publications and web-site links) to help parents, health care workers and schools with asthma education and issues. Click on the text below and a copy of this publication will download in a readable-printable format. The PDF will allow you direct access to over 49 asthma related links and 20 web-sites.
Resources for Addressing Asthma in Schools {AsthmaInSchools}
1 CDC. Asthma prevalence, health care use and mortality, 2002. Hyattsville, Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 2004.
2 American Lung Association, Epidemiology and Statistics Unit, Research and Program Services. Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality, May 2005.
3 Lieu TA, Lozano P, Finkelstein JA, Chi FW, Jensvold NG, Capra AM. Racial/ethnic variation in asthma status and management practices among children in managed Medicaid. Pediatrics 2002; 109:857–865.
