| Sub-title | |
| Author | R Zammit |
| Abstract | Aims: Asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders of childhood. Teachers find themselves responsible for supervising schoolchildren with asthma during school hours. They are involved in decisions regarding emergency treatment and the administration of regular prophylactic treatment. In this study a short descriptive situation followed by a questionnaire was designed to assess the knowledge of asthma amongst school teachers, to identify lacunae of limited understanding, and to assess how teachers feel about managing children with asthma in particular regarding policies for giving medications. Methods: The teachers attending the yearly In-service Training Programme organized by the Education Division and enrolling in the module Health at School, were invited to participate in the study by answering the questionnaire. This consisted of 5 statements about the nature of asthma, its treatment and management, that the respondents marked true or false. With 100% participation rate the answers of 140 respondents were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to provide tabulations and statistical calculations. Results: By cross tabulations of the respondents' results it was found that: 45.7% of the respondents were not willing to assist an asthmatic child take their medications because they lacked the appropriate knowhow. 6.4% did not feel safe to give treatment notwithstanding they thought they knew enough on asthmatic treatment presumably because of lack of a school medication policy/protocols. Of concern is that 35.0% would offer help even though they felt they did know enough regarding asthmatic treatment. Only 12.9% felt confident enough to assist children have their medications at school. Conclusions: Whilst a protocol regarding medications at school is needed, teachers need more guidance in supervising asthma and its management. The school health services could play a larger role in educating teachers |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 18 Supplement |
| Page | |
| Date | 01/12/2006 |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | asthma, knowledge, medication policy, school, teachers |