EDUCATING TEACHERS ABOUT ASTHMA

The objectives of this project were to investigate teachers' knowledge of asthma and to evaluate the effectiveness of an information session similar to the asthma programs for schools developed and offered by an organization charged with educating the community about asthma. A questionnaire consisting of 24 multiple-choice questions on asthma and its management was created for this project. There were no significant differences in knowledge of asthma between teachers who attended an information session about asthma and teachers who did not. Teachers with asthma had more knowledge of asthma than nonasthmatic teachers, but knowing someone with asthma made no significant difference to teachers' knowledge. There were no significant differences between teachers who had or had not received training in asthma from some other source prior to our intervention. Ninety-three percent of teachers indicated they wanted more information on asthma prior to the intervention session. Seventy-nine percent of teachers wanted further information after the intervention session. Methods of improving the effectiveness of the transmission of information concerning asthma and its management are explored.