Asthma Study Promotes Partnership with Schools

Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism, but many of those lost days are unnecessary.

Dr. Marianna Sockrider, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, is part of a research team investigating ways to identify asthma patients and intervene with proper treatment. The Houston Independent School District is the subject of the study.

"It's a very important disease for school officials. Both absenteeism and school performance are involved. If a child has been up all night with asthma symptoms, he is not going to perform his best the next day," Dr. Sockrider says.

She believes many asthma cases have gone undiagnosed or are undertreated. Though 10 percent of children suffer from asthma, school officials are not always informed of it.

"We've had teachers, who have taught for 20 years, say they've never had a case of asthma. That's impossible, but that shows the gap in communication," Dr. Sockrider says.

She hopes to build a three-way partnership with school, child and parent.

"We think that everyone who is a part of that child's life needs to help that child in dealing with the disease," Dr. Sockrider says.

The study includes three separate projects. The first project involves screenings to identify asthma cases.

The researchers have developed a video that shows children in grades 1-4 various symptoms of asthma. For example, it shows a child sleeping quietly and a child coughing at night. The video then asks the student to choose the one that applies to him or her. A questionnaire is sent home to parents that day. "It's a new way to screen kids in a practical way. Eventually, we'd like to screen the children first, narrow down the possible cases, then approach the parents," Dr. Sockrider says.

The second project involves intervention by teaching self-management skills to asthma patients.

The researchers are using a CD-ROM adventure game. The game is customized for that child's symptoms and involves an adventure where getting rid of things that trigger symptoms, like dust and mold, and picking up things that help the patient, such as medications, wins points.

The third project is an assessment of the school environment. Researchers are checking the 60 HISD schools in the study for dust, water damage and other asthma triggers.

The study is funded by the National Institute of Health, with Baylor and The University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health as investigators, and HISD as a partner. Results will be compiled over the next year.

- Lori Williams

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmc-info@tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/08_01_99/page_07.html