Effectiveness of a school‐based academic asthma health education and counseling program on fostering acceptance of asthma in older school‐age students with asthma

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the academic asthma education and counseling S taying H ealthy– A sthma R esponsible and P repared™ ( SHARP ) program on fostering psychosocial acceptance of asthma. Design and Methods This was a phase III , two‐group, cluster‐randomized, single‐blinded, longitudinal study. Students from grades 4 and 5 ( N = 205) with asthma and their caregivers completed surveys at pre‐intervention and at 1‐, 12‐, and 24‐months post‐intervention. Analysis involved multilevel modeling. Results All students demonstrated significant improvement in aspects of acceptance; students in SHARP demonstrated significant improvement in openness to sharing and connectedness with teachers over students in the control condition. Practice Implications The SHARP program offers a well‐tested, effective program for psychosocial acceptance of asthma, which is welcomed by schools.