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Identification and Education of Adolescents with Asthma in an Urban School District: Results from a Large-scale Asthma Intervention

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Abstract

Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalizations, acute care utilization, health care costs, and school absences in children. Asthma morbidity is disproportionately high in inner city populations. In general, community-based public health interventions to reduce asthma morbidity have had modest success due in part to their limited reach and low participation by the targeted population. Adolescents have been especially difficult to reach. A coalition of community organizations developed a school-based, population-level system to identify, prioritize, and provide interventions for middle school children with asthma in a large urban school district in Oakland, CA. Nearly 92% (n = 8,326) of students in the targeted schools took an asthma case identification survey. Of those students who took the survey, 17.5% (n = 1,458) had active asthma and were eligible for services. Among those identified with active asthma, 83% (n = 1,217) voluntarily attended asthma self-management classes at school. The 4-week curriculum previously has been shown to significantly improve several indicators of asthma control in this population. Retention was high—72% of students who enrolled attended at least three of the four curriculum sessions. Many higher-risk students were subsequently referred to and enrolled in off-site asthma services. Large school districts with incomplete or inadequate health records, high asthma prevalence, and internal or external services available for students with asthma may benefit from a similar model. A system such as the one described may be an effective public health strategy for school districts, health departments, and community coalitions addressing asthma or other conditions with high childhood prevalence.

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Abbreviations

CDC:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

OUSD:

Oakland Unified School District

CAACP:

Controlling Asthma in American Cities Project

UCB:

University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health

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Acknowledgement

This research is supported with a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Grant No. U59/CCU92324-02.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Lung Association of California, 1900 Powell Street, Suite 800, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA

    Adam Davis MPH, MA

  2. TKC Integration Services, LLC, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Amanda Savage Brown

  3. Oakland Unified School District, 2950 West Street, Oakland, CA, 94608, USA

    Joan Edelstein

  4. School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, 50 University Hall #7360, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA

    Ira B. Tager

Authors
  1. Adam Davis MPH, MA
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  2. Amanda Savage Brown
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  3. Joan Edelstein
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  4. Ira B. Tager
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adam Davis MPH, MA.

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Supplemental Material

The following supplemental material is available for this article online: Appendix 1. Student Health Survey (DOC 38.5 KB)

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Davis, A., Savage Brown, A., Edelstein, J. et al. Identification and Education of Adolescents with Asthma in an Urban School District: Results from a Large-scale Asthma Intervention. J Urban Health 85, 361–374 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-008-9266-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-008-9266-y

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