(Australia) e-Book to train teachers in asthma awareness

Sept 5, 2017, SNSW (Sidney, Australia): New resources build asthma confidence in teachers https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/new-resources-build-asthma-confidence-teachers A UNSW-Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network team has produced an interactive e-book that is already improving asthma awareness in Australian schools. Head of UNSW’s School of Women's and Children's Health Professor Adam Jaffe produced the book with his Sydney Children’s Hospital colleagues Melinda Gray and Christine Burns, including videos and quizzes to boost teachers’ awareness and confidence. The Asthma First Aid Management in Schools e-Book and the Schools and Child Services Action Plan for Asthma Flare-Ups follow a NSW Ombudsman report in 2014, which found that 20 children died from asthma between 2004 and 2013. Professor Jaffe says research has found that by using the e-book, school staff increase their knowledge of asthma management, its triggers and first aid responses. The research will be presented at the European Respiratory Society conference in Milan, Italy. “Although we’re making great strides in managing children with asthma, asthma does kill children,” he said. “Two to four children every year die in NSW with asthma, and we really hope these resources will make dying from asthma confined to the pages of medical history.”