Schools and Asthma

For every classroom in Michigan with 30 children in it, two may have asthma. This chronic disease causes unnecessary restriction of childhood activities, and is a leading cause of school absenteeism. Asthma can be controlled, though, and with proper treatment and support, children with asthma can lead fully active lives.

The Facts

Among children 0–17 years old in the United States in 2002:

• 12.2% (8.9 million) had been told by a health professional at some point in their lives that they had asthma.
• 8.3% (6.1 million) were reported to currently have asthma.
• 5.8% (4.2 million) had an asthma attack in the last 12 months.

Among children 0–17 years old in the United States in 2000:

• 4.6 million had visited doctors' offices and hospital outpatient departments.
• 728,000 visited hospital emergency departments. 3
• 214,000 were hospitalized due to asthma.

Schools can do their part to control asthma by becoming more "asthma-friendly," i.e., adopting policies and procedures, and coordinating student services to better serve students with asthma.

These pictures are from posters that are available for download. Click on the poster to download a PDF copy.

Schools, Tools, and Resources

• Coordinated School Health Program
• What is CSHP?
• CSHP Resources
• Healthy School Assessment Tool (HSAT): The HSAT is an online assessment to help your school determine ways to create a healthier school environment. If you represent a Michigan school and want to determine what you can do to improve your school's health, visit the HSAT website and find out how to complete the assessment.
• Asthma Friendly Schools Initiative (American Lung Association)
• AIM School Packet Project
• NHLBI Managing Asthma: A guide for schools
• CDC Healthy Schools/Healthy Youth

Policies

• Michigan School Inhaler Law
• Michigan Camp Inhaler/Medication Law
• Reasonable Accomodations Law/Individuals with Disabilities Act 1997
• Model Policy on the Management of Asthma in Schools

School/Staff/Parent Resources

• Basic Asthma Information
• Environmental Triggers for Asthma
• School Forms and Templates
• School Resources by Staff Title
  • Principal or Administrator
  • Coach/PE teacher
  • Classroom teacher
  • Maintenance staff
  • Counseling staff
  • Food Service staff
  • School Nurse
• HSAT Resouce Guide
• Asthma Games
• Other Resources
• Asthma Action Plans
• AIM School Education Packets

Adapted from Managing Asthma: A Guide for Schools. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education. September 1991. NIH Publication No. 91-2650. Revised 2003.