Program also helps close health disparities gap for Black and Latino children at high risk for poor asthma outcomes
THURSDAY, April 24, 2025 (HealthDay News) — School-based asthma therapy (SBAT) can help improve children’s asthma control and decrease acute health care utilization, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Global.
Kimberly Arcoleo, Ph.D., from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and colleagues examined asthma control and health care utilization among 633 children (ages 5 to 19 years) enrolled in the SBAT program in Columbus, Ohio, from 2013 to 2019. Asthma control and health care utilization one year before and one year after SBAT enrollment were compared.
The researchers found that percentage increases in well-controlled asthma were 37 percent and 56 percent via the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and health care provider (HCP) ratings, respectively. There was a 49 percent decrease in asthma-related emergency department visits, 50 percent decrease for hospitalizations, 71 percent decrease for pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions, 41 percent decrease for urgent care visits, and 38 percent decrease for acute care visits. There were significant improvements in control for Black and Latino children, with Black children experiencing a 40 percent (ACT) and 66 percent (HCP) increase in well-controlled asthma. Additionally, Black children experienced reductions of 42 percent for emergency and urgent care visits and 52 percent for acute care visits, as well as 49 percent and 67 percent declines in hospitalizations and PICU admissions, respectively. Latino children had 55 percent (ACT) and 33 percent (HCP) asthma control improvements, with 62, 81, and 50 percent drops in emergency department, urgent care, and acute care visits, respectively, and a 40 percent decrease in hospitalizations.
“The SBAT program would serve well as a model for enhancing controller medication adherence, reducing morbidity, and bridging the health disparities gap for children with poorly controlled asthma,” the authors write.
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