Published online July 27, 2009
PEDIATRICS Vol. 124 No. 2 August 2009, pp. 793-795 (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0100)
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COMMENTARY

Asthma Education: Are Pediatricians Ready and Willing to Collaborate With Schools?

Barbara L. Frankowski, MD, MPH

Department of Pediatrics, Vermont Children's Hospital, Burlington, Vermont

Abbreviations: PACE—Physician Asthma Care Education

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

It has almost become a cliché to say that significant gaps remain between recommended and actual care for children with asthma despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines since 1991. Let's focus on the gap in providing asthma education. The Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma,1 published in 2007, highlight "education for a partnership in asthma care" as 1 of the 4 major components of asthma management. The guidelines clearly recommend that providers educate patients and their caregivers about 4 major topics: basic facts about pathophysiology of asthma; correct usage of medications; techniques for monitoring symptoms; and the importance of avoiding triggers. In addition, the guidelines stress the use of multiple sites for asthma education. For children and adolescents, school is a logical place for some of this education to take place. School-based programs can provide education to children in a setting in which they are accustomed to having instruction and emphasize teaching self-management skills.

In this issue of Pediatrics, Coffman et al2 have provided us with a careful and thoughtful review of qualifying school asthma education programs. The 24 programs differed considerably in age of the students (elementary through high school), educational target group (all students versus those identified with asthma), person leading the teaching (school nurse, classroom teacher, peer leader, community volunteer), and teaching techniques used (structured program, computer program). The programs were similar in that they stressed the same educational goals that . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Address correspondence to University Pediatrics, One South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401. E-mail: barbara.frankowski@vtmednet.org


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