Abstract
A Cochrane review of school-based asthma interventions (combining all ages) found improved health outcomes. Self-management skills, however, vary according to age. We assessed effectiveness of primary school-based self-management interventions and identified components associated with successful programmes in children aged 6–12 years. We updated the Cochrane search (March 2020) and included the Global Health database. Two reviewers screened, assessed risk-of-bias and extracted data. We included 23 studies (10,682 participants); four at low risk-of-bias. Twelve studies reported at least one positive result for an outcome of interest. All 12 positive studies reported parental involvement in the intervention, compared to two-thirds of ineffective studies. In 10 of the 12 positive studies, parental involvement was substantial (e.g. attending sessions; phone/video communication) rather than being provided with written information. School-based self-management intervention can improve health outcomes and substantial parental involvement in school-based programmes seemed important for positive outcomes among primary school children.
Highlights
Asthma, the commonest long-term condition among children, causes significant morbidity and mortality globally[1]
We aimed to review the effectiveness of school-based self-management interventions for primary school children with asthma and to examine the components associated with successful programmes
We identified 23 studies that evaluated the effectiveness of school-based asthma self-management intervention among primary school children
Summary
The commonest long-term condition among children, causes significant morbidity and mortality globally[1]. Asthma guidelines recommend supported self-management to improve asthma control and reduce the use of urgent healthcare services[2,3,4]. School-based asthma self-management interventions have been reported to improve asthma control and reduce school absenteeism and asthma exacerbations[7,8,9,10,11]. Most systematic reviews analysed combined data from primary and secondary schools (5–18 years)[7,8,9,10]. One scoping review conducted in 2014 focused on primary school children, but the aim was to identify research gaps rather than assess outcomes[11].
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