In the United States, approximately 14% of childrenare diagnosed with asthma.
The burden of asthma varies nationwide, and some communities have a higher prevalence of the chronic lung disease. For example, among the approximately 2000 students in Kennett Public Schools (KPS) in southeast Missouri,
about 18% have asthma. In 2008, KPS started addressing students’ health needs through a 5-year
Missouri Foundation for Health grant to implement an asthma management program. District staff developed
the program in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, University
of Missouri School of Medicine, and the Missouri Foundation for Health. In addition, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program
contributed expertise in school-based asthma-related programming.
During 2011-2012, a team from CDC and ICF International evaluated the KPS asthma program
to examine program activities and their impact on students’ asthma outcomes. The CDC evaluated this
program because it used school-based activities to connect students to and potentially enhance outcomes
of clinical asthma care, recognized as necessary for achieving and maintaining asthma control.
Findings revealed the program led to improvements in asthma control among students with poorly controlled asthma.
Given that the KPS program has evidence of effectiveness and provides a model for the role of school staff in enhancing clinical care, the purpose of this paper is to provide a more detailed program description of the multicomponent approaches used in order to offer school health services staff in other districts ideas for replication and incorporation into their asthma management programs. This article will help to translate evaluation findings into clear programmatic activities for districts that wish to make use of these asthma program components.