How School Staff Can Support an Asthma-friendly School

A new school year often means a new environment for students and staff, which makes it even more important to address situations that could impact lung health. Make sure your school's Health Inquiry Form includes asthma-related questions and encourages parents to have children vaccinated prior to the start of the school year. Monitoring and supporting students with asthma helps ensure that those with the greatest needs receive timely and appropriate health services during the school day. Here are some tips to get you off to a good start:

• Send a welcome letter to all parents at the beginning of the school year that communicates the school’s medication policies and procedures and includes any required forms. The letter should include information on the delivery of asthma treatments (i.e. metered-dose inhaler with a valved holding chamber). 
• Have an Asthma Action Plan on file for each student with asthma. The American Lung Association’s Asthma Action Plan for Home and School includes vaccinations and treatment approaches such as Single Maintenance Reliever Therapy (SMART) therapy. What is SMART? Look here to find out more about this new treatment option you may see in your health office,
• Asthma can make it harder to manage respiratory infections, and viruses can cause asthma symptoms. In addition to vaccination, strategies like washing hands frequently, disinfecting surfaces, improving ventilation indoors and avoiding touching your face can help ward off respiratory infections. 
• Ensure immediate access to asthma medication by:
  • Take our Assessing a Child’s Readiness to Carry and Use a Quick-Relief Inhaler course designed to assist designated school health staff assess a child’s readiness to carry and use a quick-relief inhaler.
  • Using our Student Readiness Assessment Tool to help you identify a student's readiness to self-carry and administer their quick-relief inhaler. 
  • Establish a stock asthma medication program in your school by adopting a stock bronchodilator policy to provide immediate access to quick-relief asthma medication to students with asthma or any student experiencing a respiratory emergency. Find out more about the stock asthma medication laws in your state.
  • Share the Asthma Basics course and First Aid for Asthma poster with school employees and post it in common areas such as gyms and cafeterias.

When kids are healthy and feel good, they learn more effectively. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is tied to things like spread of airborne bacteria and viruses, increase in asthma and allergy symptoms, plus headaches, dizziness, cough and fatigue. That’s why good indoor air quality in schools is critical.   Help keep your students safe by reducing or eliminating IAQ problems in the classroom by reducing or eliminating asthma triggers (e.g., mold, pet dander, air fresheners, cleaning chemicals), improving ventilation and air filtration, and using asthma-friendly cleaning practices. Visit the Clean Air at School page to build awareness about the importance of clean air in schools and to empower schools to take steps to improve their air quality. 

Learn more about asthma and prevent asthma emergencies with Asthma Basics and Breathe Well Live Well^® Plus, two online adult asthma education programs to help people better manage their asthma so they can live more active, healthy lives.   

Schools can play an active role in educating students about asthma by preparing designated school personnel to facilitate an asthma education program such as Open Airways For Schools® and Kickin’ Asthma. Find more information on providing asthma education to school personnel, parents and students.

Staying active benefits all students but may be daunting for students with asthma or their caregivers. Providing asthma education to Physical Education instructors or coaches, managing physical activity and offering modifications to activity when needed can keep students with asthma in the game. Learn more here: Asthma and Exercise or distribute our First Aid for Asthma poster.

Learn about the Lung Association’s comprehensive approach to addressing tobacco use among youth which includes education, intervention and alternatives to suspension and youth cessation as well as links to our youth tobacco programs and resources. Schools can provide a healthy school environment by enacting a tobacco-free campus policy that includes e-cigarettes. For students that are caught smoking or vaping on campus, schools can provide an intervention program (such as INDEPTH) as an alternative to suspension, instead of punitive approaches to educate students about the dangers of tobacco. For students who are ready to quit tobacco and nicotine use, schools should provide evidence-based tobacco cessation programs.