24261517

PMC4555870

BACKGROUND

Asthma is a leading chronic childhood disease in the United States and a major contributor to school absenteeism. Evidence suggests that multicomponent, school-based asthma interventions are a strategic way to address asthma among school-aged children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages the thirty-six health departments (34 states, DC, and Puerto Rico) in the National Asthma Control Program (NACP) to implement multicomponent, school-based asthma interventions on a larger scale.

METHODS

To better understand best practices and replicability of state-coordinated interventions in schools, an NACP evaluation team conducted an evaluability assessment of promising interventions run by state asthma programs in Louisiana, Indiana, and Utah.

RESULTS

The team found that state asthma programs play a critical role in implementing school-based asthma interventions due to their ability to 1) use statewide surveillance data to identify asthma trends and address disparities; 2) facilitate connections between schools, school systems, and school-related community stakeholders; 3) form state-level connections; 4) translate policies to action; 5) provide resources and public health practice information to schools and school systems; 6) monitor and evaluate implementation.

CONCLUSIONS

This article provides an overview of the evaluability assessment findings and illustrates these roles using examples from the three participating states.

CDC Public Access

MUW9/Intramural CDC HHS/United States