The effects of a school-based intervention on the self-care and health of African-American inner-city children with asthma

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic illness that affects 5% to 10% or about 5 million children in this country. Morbidity and rising mortality rates are of particular concern in minority children. This study addresses a serious knowledge deficit about the management of asthma in minority children by testing the effect of a school-based asthma education program on psychosocial and health outcomes of 8–13-year-old inner-city minority students. Although the mean scores of the treatment group were higher than the control group on several of the psychosocial measures, these changes were not significant. However, significant differences were found between the groups on health outcomes. Recommendations for future research and clinical practice are discussed.