A Focus on Asthma and Individual Health Plans

Abstract

A survey was conducted to assess asthma and the implementation of individual health plans for asthma (IHPA), also known as asthma action plans, in Texas schools. Most of the respondents (91.7%) were school nurses. Forty-four percent of respondents indicated that their school district maintained a written policy requiring implementation of IHPA for students with asthma, while 61.5% implemented IHPA for students with asthma. More than 93% of respondents from school districts with written policies indicated that IHPA were implemented for students with asthma. However, only 36.6% of respondents from school districts without written policies indicated that IHPA were implemented. More than 38% of respondents indicated that asthma education was not provided at their school. Texas schools should be encouraged to adopt written policies requiring implementation of IHPA for all students with asthma, and school nurses should be encouraged to implement asthma education in their schools.