Asthma

Asthma is a most important chronic infection among children and youth in the U.S. In 2006, 5.6 million school-aged kids and youth were reported to currently have asthma and 3.1 million had an asthma episode or attack within the previous year.


Trouble of Asthma in Schools

On average, in a classroom of 30 kids, about 3 are likely to have asthma. Asthma is one of the top causes of school absenteeism. In 2003, an estimated 12.8 million school days were missed due to asthma with the more than 4 million kids who reported at least one asthma attack in the previous year.


Take Action

School employees and families can play an chief role in helping students with asthma manage their disease at school by creating asthma-friendly schools.

Asthma-friendly schools provide:

• Appropriate school health services for students with asthma, ensuring that students take their medicines and learn to use them when appropriate.

• Asthma education for students with asthma and awareness programs for students, school staff, parents, and families.

• A safe and healthy school location to reduce asthma triggers, joint with safe and enjoyable physical instruction and actions for students with asthma.

Improvements are most successful when they are synchronized within schools and with the community. Better asthma administration can result in improved attending and performance at school.


Many schools are becoming more asthma-friendly by making changes that enable students to productively manage their asthma and fully participate in all school activities. Changes to create asthma-friendly schools are occurring at all levels: classroom, health room, school, and district.