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On average, three children in a classroom of 30 are likely to have asthma. Check out the newly updated Managing Asthma in the School Environment document to learn what you can do to help.   The Asthma Epidemic in Schools Children spend a lot of time in our nation’s schools, and with an average of one out of every 10 school-aged children suffering from asthma, the school environment is an important vehicle for managing asthma triggers. Schools, like homes, have the potential to house several asthma triggers, including mold and moisture, pests and dust mites.

Download the newly updated Managing Asthma in the School Environment document to learn how you can help control asthma at your school and boost student performance – as asthma accounts for nearly 10.5 million missed school days each year in children aged 5 to 17. Action Steps to Manage Asthma Establish and continuously evaluate your school or district’s IAQ management program: Use the resources and tools available through the IAQ Tools for Schools Program to develop a comprehensive and inclusive IAQ management program. Develop an asthma management plan in your school or district: To expand the reach and scope of your IAQ management program, coordinate school, family and community efforts to better manage asthma symptoms and reduce school absences among students with asthma. Reduce environmental asthma triggers: Take steps to reduce mold and moisture in your school buildings, implement integrated pest management and reduce individual sources of indoor air pollution, including secondhand smoke, chemicals and school bus exhaust.   Learn more about how to take action to create healthy school environments and manage asthma. Register for the 2011 National Asthma Forum! The Forum will be held in Washington, D.C., June 9–10, 2011. Reserve your spot today! Visit EPA’s Managing Asthma in School Environments website to get started today!    
Anthem’s no-cost, web-based, train-the-trainer course that gives health educators the tools to teach patients how to communicate with their doctors and more effectively navigate the healthcare system.  The online course and all of its downloadable resources are in both English and Spanish. The course  is appropriate for any person working in a health educator’s role, including nurses, certified patient educators, patient navigators, patient advocates, community health workers, promotores del salud, and others serving patients. The ultimate goal of this project is to create empowered patients who are active participants in their health care for improved clinical outcomes and reduced medical errors. To access the course, go www.fairhealthtogether.com - choose ‘Indiana’ in the pull down menu under ‘Providers,’ and then click the ‘Training’ tab.Anthem/ HCP on-line training
Marion County Public Health Department   Learn more about Marion County Public Health Department by visiting www.mchd.com
The Coach's Asthma Clipboard WINNING WITH ASTHMA   The highly recommended "Winning With Asthma" , is a program designed to educate sports coach's about the effects of asthma in today athletes.  Visit www.winningwithasthma.org to become an asthma educated coach.

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Indiana Schools Selected

 

INDIANA SCHOOLS SELECTED FOR STATE ASTHMA EDUCATION STUDY

 

INDIANAPOLIS—Two Indiana elementary schools, Molly B. Hoover Elementary in Crawfordsville and Oaklandon Elementary in Indianapolis, have been chosen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for an evaluability assessment of their multi-component asthma education and management initiatives, including the Fly a Flag for Clean Air program. The purpose of the evaluability assessment is to determine if the two schools’ programs can be replicated by others around the nation.

 

Oaklandon and Hoover were recently visited by staff members of the Indiana State Department of Health and the CDC to determine if the statistics gathered can help develop data collection instruments that can be used by other schools across the country.

 

 

Asthma is one of the main reasons for school absenteeism nationwide, but there is little in public health literature about evidence-based programs in schools focused on better asthma management.  A cooperative effort between the Indiana State Department of Health, the CDC, and schools in Indiana and two other states may soon provide adequate data to move their multi-component, school based asthma management efforts from the “promising practice” category, to evidence-based.

 

The Fly a Flag for Clean Air program provides grade-specific curriculum about air quality and its impact on health.  The program engages students in checking the air quality index daily, announcing the air quality index for the day, and raising a colored flag to indicate the air quality for that day.  Participating schools ensure that all students with asthma have asthma action plans, and the school nurse collects information such as asthma-related nurse visits, ambulance calls and preventative treatments given daily.  Additionally, Fly a Flag schools ban tobacco use and engine idling on school property.

 

Both Hoover and Oaklandon have participated in the Fly a Flag program for more than a year and have had faculty members attend asthma management training.  The schools’ Indoor Air Quality coordinators will be trained later this summer on monitoring and improving air quality inside school buildings. 

 

The Fly a Flag program is supported by the Indiana State Department of Health, Anthem, WellPoint, the City of Indianapolis, Duke Energy and Improving Kids’ Environment. 

 

For more information, please visit the Indiana State Department of Health’s website at www.StateHealth.IN.gov

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