Chicago Public School Nurses Examine Barriers to School Asthma Care Coordination

Objective/Design: Well documented asthma disparities in Chicago pose a continual challenge for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Coordinated Health Care for Complex Kids (CHECK) is a health care demonstration project funded by a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Award. A collaborative partnership was formed between CHECK and CPS. With CHECK support, CPS administered a survey to 160 nurses to understand the asthma problems nurses perceived and interest in intervention. Results: Seventy–five percent (n=120) completed the survey. While asthma was the top diagnosis managed by 95%, 72% reported gaps in asthma understanding. Appropriate communication between school nurses and providers occurred 33% of the time; 18% believed they received sufficient support to follow-up on deficient paperwork. The barriers mentioned were lack of medications (73%), time (67%), and communication with providers (61%). When asked their opinions on potential interventions, 78% of nurses supported web-based applications, 66% community health workers, and 66% stock albuterol in schools. Conclusions: The greatest barriers for CPS nurses with asthma management are time and communication. Potential interventions such as web-based communication applications and community health workers in schools were well received.