School-Based Asthma Management Programs

School-based asthma management programmes integrate clinical care, education and coordination within the school environment to reduce morbidity, improve health outcomes and support academic performance among pupils with asthma. Core elements include personalised asthma action plans, routine monitoring of lung function by school nurses or trained personnel and targeted asthma education for students, families and school staff. A collaborative “circle of support” involving paediatric clinicians, school nurses, teachers and families ensures adherence to treatment, rapid recognition of exacerbations and minimised absenteeism. By addressing social determinants of health—such as access to inhaled therapies and specialist input through telemedicine or community partnerships—these programmes have demonstrated global applicability, yielding improvements in asthma control, quality of life and school attendance, alongside cost savings from reduced emergency healthcare utilisation. Models are tailored to local needs, incorporating culturally sensitive materials and community engagement frameworks, and increasingly emphasise the leadership role of school nurses in optimising outcomes across diverse socio-economic settings.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have applied rigorous epidemiological designs to disentangle the causal links between asthma severity, control and educational attainment. A national sibling comparison study examined adolescents with asthma alongside their siblings to control for shared familial factors. Findings indicate that uncontrolled asthma in early adolescence is associated with modest reductions in grade-point sums and national test scores, suggesting that poor asthma control itself—rather than familial or socio-economic factors—adversely affects school performance. By contrast, well-controlled asthma showed negligible academic impact, underscoring the importance of optimal disease management through adolescence to safeguard educational prospects.

School-Based Asthma Management Programs publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in school-based asthma management programs across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Implementation strategy: A structured set of methods or techniques designed to promote the adoption, integration and sustainability of interventions in real-world settings.

RE-AIM framework: A planning and evaluation model focusing on Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance of health interventions.

Sibling comparison: A research design that compares outcomes within families to control for shared genetic and environmental confounders.

Uncontrolled asthma: A clinical state characterised by frequent symptoms, exacerbations or need for rescue medication despite prescribed therapy.

School absenteeism: The incidence of missed school days due to health or other reasons, used as an indicator of functional impairment and educational disruption.

References

1. Reducing asthma attacks in disadvantaged school children with asthma: study protocol for a type 2 hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial (Better Asthma Control for Kids, BACK). Implementation Science (2024).
2. Creation and implementation of SAMPRO™: A school-based asthma management program. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2016).
3. The Use of Telemedicine Access to Schools to Facilitate Expert Assessment of Children with Asthma. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications (2007).
4. The Impacts of Educational Asthma Interventions in Schools: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Canadian Respiratory Journal (2016).
5. Impact of Nurse-Led Asthma Intervention on Child Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review. The Journal of School Nursing (2021).
6. Asthma and subsequent school performance at age 15–16 years: A Swedish population-based sibling control study. Scientific Reports (2020).
7. Teaming Up for Asthma Control: EPR-3 Compliant School Program in Missouri Is Effective and Cost-Efficient. Preventing Chronic Disease (2017).