Health Policies and Principles for Asthma in Primary School Children

This article discusses the health policies and principles for asthma in primary school children. It covers the principles of health promotion, primary health care, and advocacy as applied to primary school children with asthma. It also talks about the principles of equity, self-determination, rights, and access applicable to asthma in primary school children as relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

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Asthma in Primary School Children
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Health Policies Applied to Primary School Children with Asthma
Asthma in primary school children is among the major health concerns in Australia.
This is due to the fact that, asthma in young children below the age of 15 is a common cause
of vast presentation to admission in a hospital or the emergency departments(Health, National
Institutes of National Heart, Lung, 2014). The diagnosis of asthma in children is normally
considered when a child presents with symptoms such as wheeze, cough, and difficulty in
breathing(National Asthma Council Australia, 2015). The Australia Asthma with the
collaboration of the Department of Health and Australian Institute and Health Welfare
(AIHW) have created various health policies and guidelines for primary school children in
order to cab the complication of asthma and promote the quality and safety health in
children(Evans-Agnew, Klein and Lecce, 2015). Such health policies act as a guideline for
schools, teachers, parents, and children of which they are intended to be practiced fully to
promote the welfare and quality of health to primary school children with asthma.
Health policies for supporting primary school children with asthma at schools are
guided by the Australian Law and Legislation including the Occupational Health and Safety
Act 2004 that make sure all teachers are well trained in first aid, the Education and Training
Reform Act 2006 that clearly indicate that a school have to take responsibilities to safeguard
the health of its students and the Schools Policy Advisory Guide that ensures all children with
special needs will be assisted by the schools through guidance by medical care
professionals(Long-sighted, 2014). There are various legal obligations for schools in relation
to primary children with asthma which include the duty of care and disability discrimination
legislation(Binns, James, and Lee, 2013). Regarding the duty of care, all staffs working at
schools in Australia have responsibilities to take reasonable steps that are intended to protect
primary school children in their care from risks of injury that are within their capacity and
foreseeable(Al-Motlaq and Sellick, 2014).

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Relating to asthma management, all schools in Australia together with their staffs
have a duty to take reasonable steps to inform themselves as for whether the primary school
enrolled children are diagnosed with asthma(National Asthma Council of Australia, 2016).
There are various ways schools and staff can determine whether a kid enrolled has asthma.
This includes through asking their parents if their kid has asthma by use of application forms.
where this question is not answered, it is the responsibility of a teacher and the school he or
she is working for to perform a follow up in order to obtain sufficient information(Al-Motlaq
and Sellick, 2014). The other way a school can obtain information regarding asthma in
primary school children is by reminding parents frequently to inform them on any change of
circumstance in terms of newly diagnosis children(The National Asthma Council Australia,
2012).
Asthma is normally under the category of disability and in that case, the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992 and the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 are applied(National Asthma
Council of Australia, 2016). This depicts that, all Australian schools must make sure primary
children with asthma are not discriminated either indirectly or directly(Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare, 2015). Direct discrimination occurs when a primary school kid is treated
unequally just because he or she has asthma. For instance, the school may decide not to allow
kids with asthma to go camping. Indirect discrimination may occur where teacher perform
exercises that may trigger acute asthma attack thus the kids with asthma opt not to
participate(Evans-Agnew, Klein and Lecce, 2015). The schools have responsibilities to adjust
certain routines in order to accommodate children with asthma. The Department of Health
recommends that any school that has children with asthma must have an asthma management
policy(National Asthma Council Australia, 2015). An asthma management policy contains an
agreement that the school will comply with the health guides for asthma management as

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indicated by the Ministry of Health. Other than that, the school must have at least one staff
who have completed an asthma basic management training and first aid.
Principles of Health Promotion, Primary Health Care and Advocacy as Applied to
Primary School Children with Asthma
Health promotion in primary school children with asthma include all the preventive
strategies that can be applied to minimize the risk of asthma attack, allow early interventions
and prevent triggers of asthma. (Reeves et al., 2016) Health promotion strategies in asthma in
children target all the stakeholders including all school staff, principal, the community around
the school, children and their parents(The National Asthma Council Australia, 2012). Some
of the health promotion strategies include holding school campaigns, direct education at
school and parent meetings and training of school staff about basic asthma management
guidelines(Long-sighted, 2014). Parents should be taught how to check the basic symptoms
of asthma from their kids and how to prevent the occurrence of severe attacks. One of the
health promotion strategies that can be applied to the school staff is the provision of asthma
action plans that elaborate the emergency and basic guidelines of taking care of children with
asthma(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Poulos, Cooper, Ampon, Reddel, 2014).
The asthma action plans can be informed of posters or offering basic guidelines.
Primary health care involves the first detection or first contact a child with asthma
receives medical services. Evidence shows that early intervention and diagnosis of asthma in
children normally reduces the risk of severe attacks and hospitalization (Health, National
Institutes of National Heart, Lung, 2014). Primary health care in children with asthma can be
practiced through the use of screening programs at schools and use of other preventive
strategies that minimize the risk of development of asthmatic attacks at school(Evans-Agnew,
Klein and Lecce, 2015). This includes participating in the screening of children at school to
check whether they have any asthmatic symptoms, screening risk triggers at school

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environments like smoke, colds, and risky flowering plants from school grounds. Risking
minimization should be considered at school and out of school setting.
Advocating involve representing and enhancing the establishment of policies that help
to minimize and treat primary school children with asthma. This includes presenting issues to
the government and to schools that will enhance policy-making and planning(Evans-Agnew,
Klein and Lecce, 2015). Advocacy involves not by giving suggestion only but also by being
part of the charge. Some of the advocacy strategies for primary school children with asthma
include advocating for regular review of medication the children are receiving, compulsory
asthma emergency kits in all schools and professionally trained nurses with asthmatic
experience to be placed in high populated schools with vast of asthma children(National
Asthma Council Australia, 2015). Advocating for free provision of emergency kits at school
will help the disadvantageous children with asthma to have quick access to health care and
reduce chances of emergencies. Where professional nurses or school well-trained staffs are
placed at school with highly populated asthmatic children, high quality and safety care will
be archived(Evans-Agnew, Klein and Lecce, 2015).
Principles of equity, self-determination, rights, and access applicable to asthma
in primary school children as relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
Evidence shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are usually
disadvantaged when it comes to quality of health as compared to the non-indigenous
community(AIHW, 2013). This same problem applies to their families and the primary
school children with asthma are no exception. This may due to inequitable distribution of
resources as the larger part of the population comparing to non-indigenous Australians lives
in remote areas where health care services are not readily available(Tsey et al., 2014).
However, this should not be practiced in primary school as the legislation of Equal

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Opportunity Act suggest, all children at school should be treated fairly and given equal
opportunity regardless of where they are located or which ethnic community they come from.
To ensure that primary school children with asthma from indigenous Australia get equitable
treatment as other children, the government should ensure that all remotely located schools in
area where the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lives are supplied with enough
emergency kits, healthcare professional and are fully screened before they are enrolled at
schools(NSW Ministry of Health, 2013). Equity does not only apply to resources application
only but also fair treatment at school, and equally acceptance like other children from non-
indigenous communities.
It is the inherent right of all Australia to be treated fairly and have accesses to health
care regardless of their race or where they come from. However, this does not usually apply
to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families(Munns et al., 2018).
Schools should practice the recommended health policies to make sure no indigenous primary
school children with asthma are either discriminated or limited to access to health care while
at school(Munns et al., 2018). Since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may
have different cultural characteristics, schools dealing with indigenous people should have a
specialist who can intervene any deviation that might lead to poor management of children
with asthma from the indigenous community(Munns et al., 2018). In most cases, Indigenous
community parents have fear in reporting their kids are asthmatic to prevent discrimination. It
is recommended that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander should be self-determined and
have a virtue of enjoying freely their culture and social statuses without fear(Munns et al.,
2018). This, in turn, will make them feels free while reporting and giving statements about
the progress of their children freely at schools thus enhancing the quality of care when it
comes to asthmatic children.

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