An Exploration of Whether an Intervention at the Primary School Level Is an Effective Way to Improve Asthma Management by Staff in Primary Schools in Haringey, London

Emma Kerr, Guddi Singh, Tom Holliday

Asthma, Education, Local Authority, Primary schools

Background: Asthma is the most common long-term health condition in children. It affects 1 in 11 primary school children in the UK and causes significant morbidity and mortality. The NHS spends over £137m on asthma-related hospital care each year and in 2016, 11 children in London died as a result of an asthma attack. Novel methods of improving asthma outcomes are being explored, and schools may be an under-utilised point of intervention in this field.

Aim: To determine whether implementing a set of standards and providing training in primary schools is an effective way to improve staff knowledge and confidence in managing asthma.

Methods: Interviews were carried out with newly designated ‘Asthma Leads’ in four primary schools in Haringey and asthma training was provided to all staff. Questionnaires were sent to staff before and after the intervention to evaluate knowledge of asthma management in schools.

Results: 107 questionnaires were completed in total. Asthma prevalence was found to be lower than expected, ranging from just 2.5-5.8% of children. Staff knowledge and confidence improved in the two schools which completed the program within the project timeframe.

Conclusion: Pre-intervention questionnaires identified a gap in staff knowledge of asthma management. An improvement in scores on post-intervention questionnaires suggests that this gap can be addressed by the intervention and that primary schools are a key setting in which asthma management can be improved. Following this project, we aim to extend the intervention into other primary schools in Haringey through joint working between schools and the local authority.

https://doi.org/10.31871/WJRR.16.2.4