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Health Education Research, Vol. 17, No. 2, 181-194, April 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

The prevalence and management of asthma in primary-aged schoolchildren in the south of England

Donna McCann1,2, Jenny McWhirter1,2, Helen Coleman3, Isobel Devall4, Marguerite Calvert1,2, Katherine Weare1 and John Warner2

1 Health Education Unit, Research and Graduate School of Education, and
2 Allergy and Inflammation Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ,
3 NHS Portsmouth Healthcare Trust, Dunsbury Way Clinic, Havant PO9 5BG and
4 Highcliffe Junior School, Highcliffe BH23 5AZ, UK

A postal questionnaire survey of headteachers in 149 Infant, Junior and Primary schools (response rate: 63.8%) indicated poor asthma record keeping and a need for regular staff training in asthma. Dealing with an emergency was a major concern of headteachers. In 25 of the schools surveyed, an International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was distributed to parents of children in Years 3 and 4 (7–9 years). Headteacher-reported asthma prevalence was 11.9% in these schools, while ISAAC parental reports indicated a current or previous diagnosis of asthma in 24.3% children, with 17.8% receiving asthma treatment and 18.9% reporting wheeze in the previous 12 months. Of six wheezing children per Year 3/4 class, one was receiving no treatment for asthma, three had experienced four or more attacks of wheeze in the previous year with one wheezing child per two Year 3/4 classes experiencing more than 12 such attacks. Four in six children experienced exercise-related wheeze, while only one in five schools allowed asthma medication at Physical Education lessons. A whole school policy on asthma together with some regularly updated staff education and training by an asthma-trained nurse would address many of the issues raised in this study.


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