A Central Georgia Asthma Prevalence Assessment of School-Age Children and Compliance with Senate Bill 472

Background: A common theme among the counties of the North Central Health District is the disparity between the number of asthma-related visits of African-American and white children ages 1-14 to the emergency department. In 2013, 858 children ages 1-14 in the district had emergency room visits related to asthma. The purpose of this study was to assess North Central Health District (NCHD) schools to determine the prevalence of self-reported asthma by parents and school age children and the adequacy of students’ access to maintenance inhalers at school, and to identify schools that qualify for Asthma Friendly School Recognition. Methods: The “Asthma School Policy Assessment” from the 2015 Georgia Asthma-Friendly Schools Toolkit and Recognition Guidance was used to assess policies and practices for addressing asthma with school staff, parents, and children within the NCHD schools. The Lead School Nurses in each of the 13 counties were contacted in the fall of 2015 via email to request their participation in the assessment. Each was sent a link via email to complete the consent and assessment online; Lead Nurses then sent the link to their team nurses. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. IRB approval was obtained from Mercer University. Results: The findings from the study indicate that 75% of the reporting schools have asthmatic students enrolled. The number of students with asthma ranged from 5 to 79 per school. However, only two reporting schools could identify a medication policy that allows children to possess and self-administer asthma medication. Furthermore, none of the schools reported having all five policies necessary to obtain Asthma Friendly School recognition. Conclusions: The results indicate a need for school health nurse training to ensure schools implement and adhere to policies to reduce asthma disparities among school age children as outlined in the 2015 Georgia Asthma-Friendly Schools Toolkit and Recognition Guidance

A Central Georgia Asthma Prevalence Assessment of School-Age Children and Compliance with Senate Bill 472

Background: A common theme among the counties of the North Central Health District is the disparity between the number of asthma-related visits of African-American and white children ages 1-14 to the emergency department. In 2013, 858 children ages 1-14 in the district had emergency room visits related to asthma. The purpose of this study was to assess North Central Health District (NCHD) schools to determine the prevalence of self-reported asthma by parents and school age children and the adequacy of students’ access to maintenance inhalers at school, and to identify schools that qualify for Asthma Friendly School Recognition. Methods: The “Asthma School Policy Assessment” from the 2015 Georgia Asthma-Friendly Schools Toolkit and Recognition Guidance was used to assess policies and practices for addressing asthma with school staff, parents, and children within the NCHD schools. The Lead School Nurses in each of the 13 counties were contacted in the fall of 2015 via email to request their participation in the assessment. Each was sent a link via email to complete the consent and assessment online; Lead Nurses then sent the link to their team nurses. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. IRB approval was obtained from Mercer University. Results: The findings from the study indicate that 75% of the reporting schools have asthmatic students enrolled. The number of students with asthma ranged from 5 to 79 per school. However, only two reporting schools could identify a medication policy that allows children to possess and self-administer asthma medication. Furthermore, none of the schools reported having all five policies necessary to obtain Asthma Friendly School recognition. Conclusions: The results indicate a need for school health nurse training to ensure schools implement and adhere to policies to reduce asthma disparities among school age children as outlined in the 2015 Georgia Asthma-Friendly Schools Toolkit and Recognition Guidance

Unintentional injuries trends in Georgia 2010-2021.

Background: Unintentional injuries are the 4th cause of death in the US, with 61 deaths reported per 100,000 people in 2020 (CDC, 2022). Major contributors to unintentional injury deaths are motor vehicle accidents, drug overdose, and falls (Olaisen et al., 2019). National data indicate a 40% rate increase between 1999 and 2017. Rural residents have higher rates compared to urban residents. We analyzed unintentional injury data for Georgia and compared rates across rural/urban location, race groups, gender, and age-groups between 2010 and 2021. Methods: Data were downloaded from the Online Analytical and Statistical Analysis System database of the Georgia Public Health Association, and analyzed with IBM SPSS 27. Findings: Preliminary data analysis indicate that national trends are true for Georgia as well. Unintentional injuries increased over time from 32.0 in 2010 to 53.4 in 2021 and were highest for White, Males and Females aged up to 44 years old. Importance for public health: Unintentional injury deaths contribute towards lowering life expectancy (Martínez-Alés et al., 2022), and remain the largest preventable cause of death. Prevention efforts should focus on population groups with the highest rates of unintentional injury