Asthma: School-based Self-Management Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Asthma, Updated 2026

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Asthma: School-based Self-Management Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Asthma, Updated 2026
• Corporate Authors:
  Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF)
• Description:
  Context: Asthma is the most common chronic lung disease among children in the United States, affecting approximately 6 million children, or one out of every 12 (Zahran et al. 2018). The burden of childhood asthma in the United States is disproportionate, with higher rates in urban settings and low-income and minority communities (Woods et al. 2016; Sullivan et al. 2019). Children with asthma may experience limitations in daily activities, missed school days, hospitalizations, or urgent primary care and emergency department visits. Schools provide a unique opportunity for asthma control activities. Students, parents, and staff can be educated about asthma prevention and control, steps can be taken to remove or reduce asthma triggers, and healthcare services can be offered to students. School-based interventions are an important component of a comprehensive community and health system approach to asthma control. ; Intervention Definition: School-based self-management interventions for asthma control provide education or counseling to help children and adolescents with asthma learn to do one or more of the following: •Recognize and manage asthma symptoms; •Use medications and inhalers properly; and, •Avoid asthma triggers. ; Interventions may also provide instruction on the following: •Monitoring asthma signs and symptoms; •Stress management; and, •Implementing an asthma action plan. ; Interventions may be delivered to students with asthma in group or individual sessions. Trained facilitators may include nurses, teachers, health educators, or peers, and sessions may be provided at school during or outside of regular school hours. Self-management interventions may be combined with additional asthma control activities directed at school staff, parents, or healthcare providers. ; CPSTF Finding (July 2019) The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends school-based self-management interventions for asthma control based on strong evidence of effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations and emergency room visits among children and adolescents with asthma. Interventions were effective when delivered by trained school staff, nurses, and health educators in elementary, middle, and high schools serving diverse populations. When implemented in schools in low-income or minority communities, interventions are likely to reduce asthma morbidity, improve asthma-related quality of life, and promote health equity. ; The 2019 Findings and Rationale Statement was updated in August 2026. This update includes the addition of these supporting document appendices: Appendix A: Analytic Framework (Effectiveness Review); Appendix B: Search Strategy and Summary Evidence Table Reference (Effectiveness Review); Appendix C: Included Studies (Effectiveness Review); Appendix D: Analytic Framework (Economic Review); Appendix E: Search Strategy (Economic Review); Appendix F: Included Studies (Economic Review); Appendix G: Summary Evidence Table (Economic Review).
• Content Notes:
  Publication date supplied by CPSTF
• Subjects:
  • Adolescent Health
  • Asthma
  • Asthma / prevention & control
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Early Intervention, Educational
  • Metered Dose Inhalers
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Stress, Psychological / prevention & control
• Keywords:
  • Adolescent Health
  • Asthma
  • Children
  • School
  • Community Health Worker
• Series:
  CPSTF Finding and Rationale Statement
• Subseries:
  Asthma Control
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc/168668
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• CIO:
  Office of Science (OS)
• Topic:
  Diseases and Conditions
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  38 pdf pages
• Citation:
  The Community Preventive Service Task Force (CPSTF). Asthma: School-Based Self-Management Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Asthma, Updated 2026. The Community Guide www.thecommunityguide.org. The Community Preventive Service Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia, 2026. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc/168668
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/168668/cdc_168668_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.65 MB]
• Collection(s):
  The Community Guide
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:40a0004700a7d018ffa12759d09753652d2eb02ae8977a92c754e9ef6992ddfe2f4f2d6d425ba2f8ebaa85388da57d9a92c96ce73b5c0fda3c44f88912b7ff1d