Goal: Establish healthy school environments that address asthma inequities through evidence-based asthma prevention and control policies and practices.
Objective 1: Improve indoor air quality to reduce asthma triggers in school settings by 2026.
Strategy 1: Promote the implementation of regular indoor air quality assessments, building inspections and maintenance of buildings and HVAC systems in schools.
Strategy 2: Promote the MDPH Clearing the Air Toolkit through Technical Assistance to school districts and individual schools in communities of focus. This includes Integrated Pest Management, Moisture and mold mitigation, Toxic Use Reduction, Decluttering, etc.
Strategy 3: Identify and share best practices and success stories of indoor air quality improvements in schools across MA.
Strategy 4: Engage healthy schools’ partners statewide via MAAP to facilitate the sharing of best practices, collaboration among partners , and elevation of success stories around Asthma friendly schools.
Objective 2: Improve access to professional nursing education opportunities in areas of prevention and control of asthma for school nurses by 2026.
Strategy 1: Promote best practices and guidance in asthma case management and environmental control curriculum for school nurses.
Strategy 2: Advance asthma related professional development opportunities for nurses, school nurses, childcare health managers, and other appropriate school personnel.
Strategy 3: Support each school district in having at least one Certified Asthma Educator.
Strategy 4: Work with National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB) to provide access to affordable Asthma Educator Certification registration for school nurses.
Strategy 5: Educate school nurses to provide evidence-based asthma self-management skills training to students with asthma.
Partner Led Strategies:
Strategy 6: Advocate for each school district to have at least one Certified Asthma Educator.
Objective 3: Increase the number of school districts offering school-based asthma education programs for children and families affected by asthma by 2026.
Strategy 1: Prioritize the promotion of asthma prevention and control strategies, resources and programs in school districts serving the communities of focus.
Strategy 2: Ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate evidence-based asthma educational resources are available for students and families.
Strategy 3: Encourage schools to provide Asthma Self-Management Education to students (for ex: ALA Open Airways).
Strategy 4: Recommend inclusion of asthma education in health and science curriculum.
Strategy 5: Promote asthma education opportunities through school-based and district-wide wellness committees.
Partner Led Strategies:
Strategy 6: Advocate for the inclusion of asthma education in health and science curriculum.
Objective 4: Increase the percentage of students with asthma that have and use individualized asthma action plans in schools by 2026.
Strategy 1: Encourage parents/guardians to support communication between clinical providers and appropriate school personnel (ex: school nurses) to support asthma care coordination.
Strategy 2: Recommend the adoption of school policies requiring students with an asthma diagnosis to have an individualized Asthma Action Plan at school.
Strategy 3: Increase collaboration between schools, families, PCPs and other care providers to support individualized Asthma Action Plans being provided and followed.
Strategy 4: Promote widespread education of school nurses, families, and care providers around the importance of individualized Asthma Action Plans.
Strategy 5: Ensure individualized Asthma Action Plans are regularly updated and are appropriate to the child’s health.
Partner Led Strategies:
Strategy 6: Advocate for policies requiring students with an asthma diagnosis to have an individualized Asthma Action Plan at school.
Use of the term “stakeholder”: The Asthma Prevention and Control Program has shifted away from the use of the term “stakeholder” to describe those who have an interest or concern in a particular topic due to its harmful ties to western colonialism and impact on indigenous communities. We acknowledge that at the time of publication of the full 2022-2026 Strategic Plan for Asthma in Massachusetts the term “stakeholder” was used in this document. Honoring an ongoing commitment to principals of racial equity and an ongoing evolution towards inclusivity in the language and concepts we use, future publications and materials developed by our program will continue to reflect this conscious shift towards more inclusive language.
All advocacy activities listed below will not be conducted by MA DPH or any partner organizations using state and/or federal funding.