Expert shares guide to support asthma management in schools

An expert and founder of the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) have up come with guides which will help to support successful asthma management in schools.

 

 The expert opined that many students have died from asthma crisis while in school and these deaths are partly attributable to unfriendly school environment or inadequate first aid infrastructure in schools to manage asthma crisis.

 

 “According to the Nigerian Thoracic Society, no fewer than 250,000 Nigerians die from asthma yearly. No doubt, this is a conservative figure, because, there are many unreported cases of asthma deaths in Nigeria,” said Chiwuike Uba, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF).

 

Uba stated that most times, great focus and care is given to management and treatment of asthma having home setting in mind. Usually, other settings or environments are forgotten and not considered on asthma management approaches.

 

 “Students spend more time in school than they do at home; hence, the school represents a very important setting for asthma management. It can either be supportive or pose several barriers to successful asthma management,” he said.

 

 Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease which affects all ages but mostly starts in childhood. It creates inflammation in the inside walls of airways which makes them very sensitive for the allergic reaction.

 

 Asthma may be caused due to genetic, environmental factors or combination of both. Almost all asthma sufferers have allergies. Some of the allergens are house dust mites in carpets, bedding and furniture, pet dander, pollens, moulds, air pollution, tobacco smoke, chemical irritants in the workplace and others. Some of the symptoms of asthma are coughing, wheezing, trouble in breathing and chest tightness.

 

 

Uba attributed that most of Nigerian school environment is characterised by school personnel who do not know which students have asthma and who are ill-prepared to identify and handle worsening asthma.

 

 “Apparently, schools’ does not recognise the existence and the need for established policies for asthma management in school environment. Painfully, there are no approved asthma management guidelines by the government to guide the schools. Having seen this huge gap in asthma management, the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) began the “Schools’ Education and Training Workshops on Asthma Management” in 2017.

 

 

 

He further said that the key objective of this programme is to educate schools’ staff, students, parents and health professionals on asthma management techniques.

 

 

“Schools are one setting in which many asthma control services can be provided, school nurses can help students use their medications correctly and refer them to medical facilities when the need arises,” said Uba.

 

 

However, for this to work properly, the medical condition of every student should be made known to the school management. It is evident that, most parents hide their children’s medical condition from the school management. That is not very advisable.

 

 Below are the following measures should be adopted by both the government and the school management as a quick approach to making the schools environment asthma friendly; hence, reduce asthma prevalence, morbidity and mortality in Nigeria as guide provided by the expert:

 

Develop and establish school-based air quality (indoor and outdoor) policies to help reduce asthma-related triggers.

 

Develop and establish a policy requiring asthma education for all school personnel (especially health service professionals, teachers, physical education teachers, and coaches) as a compulsory requirement. This is to enable them have basic education on asthma, asthma management and be able to handle an asthma or breathing emergency.

 

Develop and establish a policy and mechanism to ensure access to self-management education and case management for students with asthma.

 

 Develop and establish a policy requiring an individualised Asthma Action Plans for all students with asthma to monitor and manage symptoms and reduce exposure to potential asthma triggers.