Camp nursing: can children with asthma safely attend a regular outdoor day camp?

Although specialty camps are available nationwide for children with asthma, many families prefer to have their children attend regular camps. A retrospective descriptive study was undertaken to evaluate the needs of 156 children, ages 3-16 years, with asthma who attended a large, outdoor, nonspecialty, day camp in a suburban wooded setting. Findings indicate that 10.9% (n = 17) received scheduled daily asthma medication, and 12.2% (n = 19) required PRN asthma medication while attending camp. Twenty-one children (13.5%) presented, at least once, to the camp nursing office with respiratory complaints. Of a total of 35 visits to the camp nursing office for acute asthma problems, 20% (n = 7) required the child to leave camp. Nurses can encourage parents to learn about camp facilities and policies to enable them to carefully evaluate safety when considering a camp for their child with asthma.