Abstract
Physical activity can reduce symptoms and improve wellbeing in people who have asthma, and organized sport is one way for children and youth with asthma to engage in exercise. While asthmatic youth may experience a number of barriers to sport participation, healthy physical and social sport environments supported by coaches can help asthmatic youth athletes maintain long-term engagement in activity. This paper reports results of an assessment of an online coach education tool related to air quality, physical activity, and allergic disease (e.g., asthma). Focus groups with youth team sport coaches in southern Ontario (n = 12 participants) were conducted to explore how users experience the module and short- and medium-term outcomes of implementation. Although coaches perceive the module as relevant, it is considered less valuable in certain contexts (e.g., indoor environments) or when compared with other coach education (e.g., tactical). Although broad asthma management behaviours (e.g., athlete medical forms) were recognized, specific module-identified prevention and management techniques (e.g., the Air Quality Health Index) were less frequently described. Ensuring environment and health coach education emphasizes athlete performance while reducing risk is critical to promoting module application and providing safe and enjoyable youth team sport spaces.
Highlights
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood worldwide [1, 2] and affects approximately 600,000 Canadians under age 12 [3]
Physical inactivity is associated with asthma symptoms in asthmatic children and youth [15,16,17]; physical activity can act as a trigger for those whose asthma is not well managed, there have been calls for a “prescription” for exercise [15], as physical activity is an important component of a comprehensive asthma management program and can improve asthma management and wellbeing of asthmatic patients, and minimize other chronic health risks associated with sedentary behaviours [18, 19]
In order to assess the impact of the module with respect to coach knowledge, attitudes and practices related to asthma, and physical activity, the objectives of this paper are (1) to understand the short- and medium-term outcomes of the Air Aware Coach Module and (2) to investigate the user experience of the module’s implementation
Summary
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood worldwide [1, 2] and affects approximately 600,000 Canadians under age 12 [3]. A growing body of evidence indicates that environmental changes, such as temperature change, extreme weather events, and air pollution, are likely to impact respiratory health [7,8,9,10,11], in vulnerable groups such as children [7, 12]. Physical inactivity is associated with asthma symptoms in asthmatic children and youth [15,16,17]; physical activity can act as a trigger for those whose asthma is not well managed, there have been calls for a “prescription” for exercise [15], as physical activity is an important component of a comprehensive asthma management program and can improve asthma management and wellbeing of asthmatic patients, and minimize other chronic health risks associated with sedentary behaviours [18, 19]. In North America, children’s organized sport outside of school is largely run through community-based programs and youth sport organizations [21], led primarily by volunteer coaches and athlete parents, (in fewer, and more competitive instances) subsidized coaches exist
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