Examining the consulting physician model to enhance the school nurse role for children with asthma.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2009

Publication Title

Journal of School Health

Volume

79

Issue

1

First page number:

1

Last page number:

7

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Strategies for Addressing Asthma Within a Coordinated School Health Program recommends a consulting physician for schools to help manage asthma. The literature examines the effects when a school nurse is present, but the addition of a consulting physician is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of having a consulting physician on school absenteeism and children sent home due to health reasons for children with asthma and all children pooled together.

METHODS:

A 2-year preimplementation group cohort and 1-year implementation group cohort of grades K-6 in an urban school district were used to determine the impact of a consulting physician on school absenteeism for children with asthma and all children pooled together.

RESULTS:

A consulting physician was significantly associated with reduced missed school days for children with asthma and all children as a group. All children pooled together were 44% more likely (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.31-1.58) to be sent home without the consulting physician. There was a reduction from 13.8% to 12.6% of sent home events in children with asthma.

CONCLUSIONS:

Having consulting physicians in school districts appears to be associated with fewer days of school absence. The results provide additional evidence and suggest that more research is required to determine if this association is valid and to better understand the cause of such an association.

Keywords

Absenteeism; Adolescent; Asthma; Asthma/Therapy; Asthma—Treatment; Asthma in children; Asthma in children—Treatment; Child; Children; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Medical referral; Men; Nurses; Nurse's Role; Nursing; Physicians; Referral And Consultation; School attendance; School health services; School Health Services/Organization & Administration; School nursing; School Nursing/Methods; Teenagers; Women

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Community Health | Nursing | Public Health

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

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