Pinellas County Schools Asthma Education Project began as a partnership between Pinellas County Schools, Steps to a Healthier Pinellas, the St. Petersburg Health Department and the American Lung Association in 2006. Students with asthma are taught the American Lung Association''s Open Airways for Schools program. They also visit the school health clinic daily to use their peak flow meter and report any asthma symptoms that they may be having.
Our goal is to improve the long-term health of these stduents by reducing asthma episodes through education and early detection of airway compromise.
We have collected attendance data for 3 years to determine if absences due to asthma were affected by the education, peak flow monitoring and daily contact with the school nurse or CNA. The decrease in absences due to asthma were as follows: year 1 - 41.66%; year 2 - 41.38% and year 3 - 62.50%.