Evaluating outcomes of children's asthma self-management education through sustainable community-university partnerships.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of a children's asthma management education program delivered through a community-university partnership.
DESIGN: Quasi-experimental pretest/posttest. SAMPLE: Convenience sample of 50 children with asthma, grades 2-5, and their parent/caregiver from nine elementary schools in New York State. MEASUREMENTS: Child Asthma Management Self-Efficacy Survey, Child Asthma Control Test© , Parent Asthma Knowledge Test. INTERVENTION: Nursing students certified as Open Airways for Schools facilitators administered the program once weekly for 5 weeks. Parent handouts were sent home after each session. Pre/posttests for all measures were completed prior to Open Airways and at completion.
RESULTS: Improved asthma management self-efficacy (p < .001) and improved asthma control (p = .013) for children with asthma were noted. Parent asthma knowledge was high pre- and posttest with no significant change. Parental knowledge regarding inhaled corticosteroids was consistently low.
CONCLUSIONS: Collaboration between universities and local school systems allows for mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources to address the need for asthma self-management for children with asthma. Nursing students trained in asthma management develop expertise and provide sustainable resources for this education.