Asthma Education for Children
Professor Janie Canty-Mitchell led a service-learning class that provided information to East Tampa youth and their parents about asthma care and treatment.
Description:
Both Potter and Alexander Elementary Schools were the site of collaboration between the Asthma and Allergy Foundation and three students from the Community and Public Health Nursing program. Professor Janie Canty-Mitchell taught this service-learning class. The purpose was to teach East Tampa youth and their parents about asthma care and treatment. From the university’s perspective, this class provided students with a real public education experience, while providing an evidence-based and culturally focused asthma education to children.
The students, Tammi Mercedes, Eulora Michel and Guerdith Michel, had to first attend a 4-hour training entitled “You Can Control Asthma for Children 6 to 12,” then they had to become familiar with booklets from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, and find other resources that support such a program. Once completed, the nursing students gathered health information on the children and recruited those who had been diagnosed with asthma or were being treated with inhalants by the school nurse.
With parental consent, students began teaching the children. The curriculum developed used posters and a range of other educational activities. The students shared that they were surprised, but delighted, to find out how familiar the children were with the medical terms and body parts involved in asthma. By the end of the program, the nursing students felt they had definitely made an impact on the disparity of asthma related problems in children.
Contact Person: Janie Canty-Mitchell
Funding for Academic Year: 2004-05