Alameda County

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• Alameda County
• School Districts
• Leaders in Addressing Asthma in Schools

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Supported by

• Sheila Jordan
• Superintendent, Alameda County Office of
  Education
• Arnold Perkins
• Director, Alameda County Public Health
  Department
• Poki Stewart Namkung, MD
• Public Health Director, Berkeley

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What is Asthma?

• Asthma is a chronic, obstructive respiratory
  disease.
• It cannot be cured, but it can be managed.
• If not treated, asthma can be fatal.

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What are the Symptoms of Asthma?

• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Tightness in the chest
• Coughing

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What Makes Asthma Worse?

• Allergens
• Warm-blooded pets (including dogs, cats, birds,
  and small rodents)
• Dust mites
• Cockroaches
• Pollens from grass and trees
• Molds (indoors and outdoors)

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What Makes Asthma Worse? (cont.)

• Irritants
• Cigarette smoke and wood smoke
• Scented products such as hair spray and cleaning
  products
• Strong odors from fresh paint or cooking
• Automobile fumes and air pollution
• Chemicals such as pesticides

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What Makes Asthma Worse? (cont.)

• Infections in the upper airways, such as colds (a
  common trigger for both children and adults)
• Exercise (in some people)
• Changes in weather and temperature

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How is asthma controlled?

• Medical management
• Environmental management

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Asthma in Schools

• Asthma is a growing problem among children
• During the last couple of decades, asthma rates
  among school-aged children in the U.S. have
  nearly doubled

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Asthma in Schools

• Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism
  due to chronic illness
• Asthma accounts for 14 million school days lost
  annually

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In most classrooms of 30 children,
3 or more children are likely to have asthma
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In classrooms of 30 children in many schools in
Alameda County,
6 or more children are likely to have asthma
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Asthma is a troubling example of what public
health professionals call health disparities
Asthma hospitalization rates are four times
higher for African American children than white
children
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Impact on the learning environment (and test
scores)

• You cant teach kids who are absent
• Its harder to teach kids who are not feeling
  well or are distracted by classmates coughing
• It is difficult to teach kids who are sleep
  deprived
• It is difficult to teach kids who are
  experiencing side effects from asthma medication

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Impact of having staff and teachers with asthma

• When teachers are out sick, substitutes may not
  be able to stay on track
• Substitutes are costly
• Workers compensation is costly

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Impact on Teachers and Staff

• Even the most caring staff and teachers find
  it difficult to deal with students with asthma if
  they have little knowledge and no management
  systems in place
• . especially with a shortage of school
  nurses.

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So, what can schools do?

• There are many simple, low-cost approaches that
  make a difference

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You are not alone!

• Schools have allies among public health
  agencies and non-profit organizations committed
  to working with you

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To comprehensively address asthma in schools,
there are four main types of activities

• Educate students and staff
• Establish management and support systems for
  students with asthma
• Improve indoor air quality
• Improve outdoor air quality

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Educate students and staff

• Ensure that students with asthma receive
  education on asthma basics, asthma management,
  and emergency response. Encourage parents to
  participate.
• Provide school staff with education on asthma
  basics, including environmental factors that can
  trigger asthma attacks, asthma management, and
  emergency response as part of their professional
  development activities.

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Resources available to you

• We can provide
• Educational materials and some guidance to
  schools.
• Slides for presentations to school staff.
• A toolkit of materials and tips for school
  nurses.
• First Aid for Asthma posters in English and
  Spanish.
• Model programs from other schools.

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Establish management and support systems for
students with asthma

• Designate a person to coordinate asthma
  activities in each district.
• Ensure that all students have immediate access to
  medications at all time.
• Ensure that each school has staff who know about
  asthma medications and proper procedures.

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Establish management and support systems for
students with asthma (continued)

• Communicate with parents and guardians to
  identify students with asthma and improve
  coordination of support services.
• Ensure that students with more severe asthma have
  a written Asthma Action Plan on file.

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Resources available to you

• We can provide
• Models of policies and procedures used in other
  districts.
• Asthma Action Plans free of charge.

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Improve indoor air qualityWHY?

• Even with the best clinical management, children
  with asthma will continue to be sick if they face
  triggers at school
• Asthma-friendly classrooms create better
  environments for both teaching and learning
• Improving indoor air quality is a cost-effective
  approach for dealing with asthma now more than
  ever!

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Improve indoor air quality

• Designate a person at each district to work with
  the US EPA Region 9 to implement their ACSA- and
  CASBO-endorsed Tools for Schools program, a
  low- to no-cost program using simple changes to
  improve the school environment, reducing factors
  that may trigger asthma attacks.

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EPAs IAQ Tools for Schools

• Step-by-step guidance to ensure a healthy,
  productive school environment
• Easy, low- or no-cost
• Combines things the district can do and things
  done in schools
• Thousands of school nationally are using it with
  success

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Resources available to you

• Training
• Technical and Program Assistance
• Wide range of existing outreach documents and
  training modules

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Address Outdoor Air Quality

• Just a few examples of activities include
• Have indoor activities on Spare the Air Days
• Work to reduce school bus idling near classroom
  windows
• Work with environmental health organizations to
  address local concerns

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Resources available to you

• We can provide models of other programs and
  connections with other schools who are addressing
  outdoor air pollution.
• We can connect you with environmental groups in
  your areas.

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Discussion

• Questions or comments?
• Who is interested in pursuing a discussion with
  us on how you can get started?