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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.
Asthma in Schools – Tools & Resources
Asthma Lesson Plans for Teachers
Asthma Education: An Integrated Approach contains lessons created by teachers and tested in their elementary classrooms. Each lesson plan is compatible with existing traditional elementary curricula for math, science, health, or language arts. The teachers designed the lesson plans to be simple and easy to use. The lesson plans provide an opportunity to teach all children how to monitor their own health and to teach children who have asthma how to play a role in the management of their condition.
Coordinated School Health Program
A coordinated school health program (CSHP) model consists of eight interactive components. Schools by themselves cannot—and should not be expected to—solve the nation's most serious health and social problems. Families, health care workers, the media, religious organizations, community organizations that serve youth, and young people themselves also must be systematically involved. However, schools could provide a critical facility in which many agencies might work together to maintain the well-being of young people.
- 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)
The Asthma-Friendly Schools Initiative Toolkit is a planning tool based on real-life activities that have been used in schools throughout the United States to create comprehensive asthma management systems.
- AIM School Packet Project
Health information kits titled "Never Judge a Book by Its Cover, and Other Important Lessons About Asthma" were developed to disseminate accurate asthma information to Michigan schools. The packets are tailored to specific school staff. Click on the links below to find out how very serious asthma can be to a student.
- NHLBI Managing Asthma: A guide for schools
With this guide, you can put a simple-to-follow asthma-friendly program in place in your school. You will be able to brief teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, school nurses, and even the principal on their special role in making your school asthma-friendly.
- CDC Asthma Resources for Schools and Childcare Providers
- CDC Healthy Schools/Healthy Youth
Resources from the CDC to help you and your school improve areas of health for your students including Asthma Management.
Asthma and Related School Policies/Law
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These posters are available for download. Click on the image to view and save a PDF copy.
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