School nurses are leaders in the care of children with asthma. In addition to education,
counseling and disease monitoring services, school nurses help families navigate
a complex medical care system. To recognize the leadership of school nurses in asthma
care, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announces the
availability of a funding opportunity for school nurses through the Asthma School
Nursing Award.
For a sixth consecutive year, DHSS seeks school nurses from urban, suburban and
rural communities to choose and lead an asthma care improvement project during the
summer of 2011. Nurses may choose to meet with parents to prepare asthma action
plans, present a policy recommendation to school officials based on the school health
index results, train sport coaches on asthma management basics, evaluate health literacy materials, provide indoor environment
assessments, or design a project of their own. Asthma School Nursing Award recipients
will receive $700, public recognition, materials, and support from the DHSS program
team.
Applications are being accepted now through Monday, May 27, 2011. Interested persons
should complete the brief online application form as soon as possible. A limited number
of awards are available. All recipients from prior years are encouraged to apply.
How To Apply
STEP 1: Choose a Project
- Option #1:
Coaches Training
Working with sport team coaches for children ages 5-18, school nurses lead a training
program that addresses asthma symptom awareness, on-field/on-court management, and
emergency response. We recommend using materials from the nationally recognized
Winning With Asthma educational program for coaches as the basis for the training
program. To complete this project, a school nurse must provide a 40-minute training
program for 10 or more coaches and promote the use of an existing online version
to others. To review the task checklist for this project,
click here.
-
Option #2: Partnering with Parents
Parents of children with asthma and the school
nurse meet in-person during the summer to prepare an asthma management plan for
their children (i.e., asthma action plans) and discuss health concerns. There are
many asthma action plan templates, but we recommend using one from the Missouri
School Asthma Manual. Upon completion of the asthma action plan with the parent(s),
the school nurse sends a copy to the child’s health care provider for inclusion
in the medical chart. Parents should share copies of the asthma action plan with
family members, coaches, caregivers, and others who spend time with the child. By
partnering with parents during the summer, parent-nurse relationships can be strengthened
and most students will have asthma action plans at the very beginning of the school
year. To complete this project, a school nurse must meet with 80% of families whose
children take medication for asthma. To review the task checklist for this project,
click
here.
- Option
#3: School Asthma Improvement Recommendations
School policies can have a
significant impact on the management of children with asthma. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed an asthma module for the school health
index, a nationally recognized best practice for improving school health. To complete
this project, a school nurse must convene a group of parents, teachers and administrators
to review school health index results, including the new asthma module. For more
information about the school health index, click here. A report of results and recommendations
must be presented to the principal and school board. To review the task checklist
for this project, click here.
- Option
#4: Evaluate New Health Literacy Materials
The process of communicating complex information for successful asthma management can be very difficult. A portion of poor health outcomes for children with asthma may be explained by low health literacy. In an effort to improve health literacy, new video-based materials have been developed by the University of Missouri in partnership with the Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program. To complete this project, a school nurse recruits 5 parent/caregiver-child pairs and observes their reactions to new the materials. A brief written assessment is submitted. The feedback will be incorporated into the ongoing development of health literacy materials for use by school nurses and other professionals. Efforts undertaken in this project can apply to the fulfillment of Standards of School Nursing Practice #13 (National Association of School Nurses & American Nurses Association) regarding the role and responsibility of the school nurse in research.
- Option
#5: Indoor Environment Assessment
Environmental triggers play a significant
role in the management of asthma. They are often overlooked or unnoticed in homes
by even the most diligent patients, parents and caregivers. Using a checklist developed
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a thorough review of a home’s indoor
environment can detect hidden triggers and enhance asthma knowledge of patients,
parents and caregivers. To complete this project, award recipients must conduct
in-home assessments with the EPA tool for 8 or more people with asthma (adults or
children). To review the task checklist for this project,
click here.
- Option #6: Design-Your-Own Project
We encourage you to design a project that meets
the needs of your community and is evidence-based. You may expand an existing project
or start something new. Unlike the other options, you will need to provide a basic
project checklist (i.e., list of activities) and description of how the project
will be evaluated.
STEP 2: Check Eligibility
The Asthma School Nursing Award is currently open to school nurses working in public
or private schools in all Missouri counties. Award recipients must be a registered
nurse (RN), licensed practical nurse (LPN) or nurse practitioner (NP) who is employed/contracted
by a school, school district or local public health department.
STEP 3: Identify Sponsors
You will need to identity two people of your choosing who will serve as your sponsors. In prior years, these people would have submitted letters of support. Today, we notify your sponsors about your completed application, notification of award (if selected), and summary report of your project's results. Letters of support from sponsors are not required.
STEP 4: Online Application Form
Click here to begin the online application process through the Asthma School Nursing Award Application and Outcome Reporting System (new in 2011). This online system processes your application. Award recipients will use the system to submit required reports at project completion. You will receive a confirmation email indicating the submission was successful. If you have any trouble with completing the online application, please
contact us.
and we will assist you.
Note: The new system operates best when you are using Internet Explorer 8.0 or Firefox 3.6 or higher.
STEP 5: Notification
Your application will be reviewed and an acceptance decision will be communicated
to you before May 31, 2011. Upon notification you will need to submit a current
Vendor Input Form, which is required for payment processing.
STEP 6: Do the Project
You will have until August 31, 2011 to complete the project you selected.
STEP 7: Submit Outcomes Report Form
A brief outcomes report form that documents your project accomplishments and challenges
is due before September 30, 2011. The outcomes report form is filed online through the same system that your application was created. You may
review the pdf version of the outcomes report forms for each project here:
Questions
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Peggy
Gaddy at (573) 522-2876 or
peggy.gaddy@dhss.mo.gov
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view application materials.
