Study Finds School-Supervised Asthma Medication Treatment Effective
February 4, 2009
Study Finds School-Supervised Asthma Medication Treatment Effective

Researchers found that asthmatic children who took prescribed medication while supervised at school were less likely to experience an episode of poor asthma control than study participants who were supposed to use the medication at home. The study randomly assigned 290 students to the groups and provided both with free inhaler-based steroid medications as approved by the childrens’ physicians. Although daily use of inhaled cortical steroids is routinely prescribed to control asthma, adherence is low. This study’s findings are consistent with 2 smaller studies about school-supervised asthma medication treatment. Authors suggest that schools (even those not staffed with a nurse) are an appropriate setting for supervised medication use. They suggest that physicians who experience difficulties with patient adherence to medication use reach out to local schools to help improve adherence.

The article is available at Pediatrics:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/123/2/466

For more on school-based medication management, please see
http://www.healthinschools.org/Educators-and-Families/Parents/Act-Now/Helping-Children-Stay-Healthy/Medication-Management-At-School.aspx