Poster Presentation
Monday, November 5, 2007
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Monday, November 5, 2007
1:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Asthma Management at School:The School Nurse Perspective
Lisa A. Davis, RN, BS, Department of Nursing, Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, TX, USA
| Learning Objective #1: discuss the use of peak flow monitoring to assess asthma control in the school-aged student. |
| Learning Objective #2: explore the school nurse perceived reliability of the use of the peak flow monitor for asthma assessment. |
Increasing amounts of school-aged children who are diagnosed with asthma account for the largest group of chronically ill children who attend school. Research literature indicates asthmatic children spend about one third of their day at school and frequently visit the school nurse’s office for assistance in controlling asthma symptoms. The student, parent(s), and faculty rely on the school nurse to facilitate the best possible asthma control. Many students, as well as the parent(s), believe their child's asthma is under control but according to The Journal of School Nursing and Centers for Disease Control, there are significant numbers of school days missed due to asthma related illness. Literature review indicates the National Association of School Nurses supports peak flow monitoring to assess asthma control as part of the asthma management healthcare plan; however, there is limited published research addressing the perceived reliability of this assessment tool by the school nurse. Therefore, the purpose of this study will be to determine if school nurses perceives the peak expiratory flow as a reliable tool in assessing asthma control. This study will use a descriptive design with quantitative and qualitative questions. The proposed study will incorporate a purposive sample of Lubbock Independent School District school nurses. The sample group of eight will be registered nurses who provide nursing care at the elementary level, which is their naturalistic setting for this study. The nurses who participate in this study have a diverse range of experience as a school nurse. Data collection will be self-reporting format. Question 1 and 2 will be structured and close-ended. Question 3 uses a modified open-ended format. All data is confidential. Interpretation of this data collection will be processed utilizing a template analysis.