Increasing Asthma Action Plan Safety: Informing Public Education Staff

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this quality improvement (QI) project was to increase asthma action plansfiled within a local public charter school and improve staff awareness of action plans, their use, and the implementation guidelines designated by the student’s primary care provider. Background: Pediatric asthma is one of the most common diseases found in children (Jassal,2015). The management of pediatric patients with asthma requires diligent medication monitoring and education of patients and caregivers, including parents, daycare staff, and school administration and personnel. Asthma action plans (AAP) are used to educate patients and caretakers on steps to successfully control asthma symptoms and exacerbations. This quality improvement study aimed to increase AAP numbers, educate school nurses and staff, and improve confidence in teaching and implementing AAPs at Lincoln Academy, a charter school in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Methods: The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) lends structure to qualityimprovement projects by providing the Model for Improvement (IHI, 2019) which was used to implement education for school staff. Participation for the school healthcare providers and staff was voluntary. A pre- and post-survey was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation. Results: 79 staff members out of the 103 staff members at Lincoln Academy took the pre/postsurveys indicating a 77% participation level. All surveys were included in the data analysis. Data was recorded in the Qualtrics survey program and transferred to an Excel spreadsheet to organize coordinating questions into tables and charts. The highest percentage of change was with the educational staff’s confidence to adequately respond to student asthma emergencies. This result indicates an increase in student safety and as an independent question makes future yearly educational interventions worthwhile. Conclusions: The intervention addressed the need for increased employee knowledge on asthma,the use of asthma action plans, and the policies and procedures in place at Lincoln Academy for symptom escalation and emergency treatment. Preliminary results from this project find that the online intervention significantly increased employee confidence and knowledge.