Community campaign against asthma.

Asthma in children is common, underdiagnosed, and undertreated . We report a childhood asthma campaign in an inner city area, initiated by school doctors who then worked closely with family doctors. The campaign aimed to detect children with asthma, to institute or improve treatment, and to provide information about childhood asthma for families, teachers, school doctors, school nurses, and general practitioners. The symptoms and school attendance of most asthmatic children were reported by parents to have improved after the campaign, which was well received by both families and professionals. Similar campaigns focusing on other common childhood problems may provide concrete opportunities for collaboration between school health services and general practitioners and for improving children's health.