Assessment

The 23 non-profit daycares surveyed (response rate 73%) employ an average of 13 staff, enroll 32-120 children (mean 64), look after an average of 6.8% children with asthma and of those with asthma, administer medication to 68% on average. Thirty nine percent of the managers indicated they were very confident in caring for children with asthma and 74% strongly agreed that their staff would benefit from more information on asthma. Seventy eight percent were interested to participate in an asthma program. Over two thirds (65%) indicated a willingness to participate in a focus group to further assist in the development of the intervention plan.

Interventions

The majority of daycares preferred the interventions to include workshops (91%) in small groups (59%), discussions (73%), videos (73%) and printed materials (86%). A collection of existing asthma programs and resources for daycare will be reviewed and considered. Prior to implementation, the intervention plan will be reviewed with a focus group to ensure that it will best meet their needs in creating a safe environment for children with asthma/allergies.

Asthma & Daycare Background

• Most common childhood chronic illness.
• Costs the Canadian health care system $504 to $648 million/year.
• Top reason for pediatric hospital admission.
• Est. 13% of daycare placements have asthma.
• Daycare providers do not receive formal training in asthma.
• Little to no asthma support available to daycares.
• Few effective educational interventions available for younger children.

Project Aim

Our project aims to optimize the care of children with asthma and/or allergies in the daycare setting by providing the necessary education and resources to daycare providers in Edmonton.

Method