Schools, we need you!
Today, the 1st of May, is World Asthma Day, organised by the Global Initiative for Asthma. So, we want to take the opportunity to put out a call to action to London secondary schools to get involved with our initiative to support the health of your students.
Our School Liaison Officer is currently contacting schools, but we would love to hear from YOU!
Initially, we will deliver the programme in secondary schools in London, but we would like to expand after we show the programme works.
Are you a teacher, school nurse, or school governor in a London secondary school? Perhaps you’re a parent, or someone concerned about health and welfare more generally? Or maybe you know someone who is one of the above? Continue reading to find out why we need to tackle asthma in schools-based workshops, and the benefits to young people and for schools and teachers.
Is asthma a big problem?
The statistics are grim, as outlined in a story in the Telegraph today, Britain’s asthma death rate is among the worst in Europe and around 50% higher than the EU average! And, asthma is the most common chronic condition in young people.
These statistics are particularly shocking because asthma medication can help the majority of asthma sufferers control symptoms, reduce the risk of asthma attacks, and manage their condition to live an active life.
Young people struggle to manage their asthma
The first part of our research, the School-based Asthma Project, surveyed 689 young people from London secondary schools to find out about their experiences with asthma. We learned that several young people struggle because of perceptions of peers, lack of knowledge about their condition, and poor understanding about how to manage and control their asthma. Our previous blog post describes more about what we learned and what we are trying to achieve.
The ‘My Asthma in School’ programme is the next stage of our research – delivering interactive workshops in schools that address the concerns that we heard from young people. Before we do that though, we need schools to sign up to the programme!
What’s in it for you?
We will work with you over 18 months in 2018/ 2019 to deliver interventions designed to support your students with their asthma, and to survey how much they understand about the condition.
We developed our outreach tools using expertise from healthcare, psychology, and science communication professionals, and by consulting young people throughout to make sure the content remains relatable and relevant.
Students in years 7 and 8 receive:
- An interactive theatre show for all students about attitudes to health and asthma.
- An interactive workshops day for the students who have asthma aimed to:
- Reduce symptoms;
- Reduce risk of asthma attacks;
- Reduce the likelihood of unscheduled healthcare visits and time off school;
- Improve awareness and management of their asthma.
- An opportunity to take part in a university-lead research project!
All the above benefits apply to the school too; we also provide a teachers’ toolkit and compensation to cover admin costs. So, get in touch to join our research, or if you need more information, email: info@myhealthinschool.org.