Teachers' role perception and opinions on the partnership between schools and parents for asthma control in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Asthma among school adolescents has been a major contributor to school absence and teachers can play an important role in supporting students with asthma and their families. The study assessed the knowledge of teachers on asthma-friendly schools, their perceived roles in the control of asthma and also their opinion on school-parent partnership in the control of asthma. A cross-sectional design was used and quantitative data were collected from 380 teachers working in selected private high schools in Nigeria. A majority (70%) of the teachers had a good knowledge of the asthma-friendly school concept. Also, a larger proportion (76.3%) had good perception about their roles in the control of asthma. Marital status significantly predicted the teachers' perception (OR=4.57, CI=1.66–12.60, P=0.003). Most of the teachers (72.1%) opined that there was no partnership between the school and the parents in the control of asthma. Partnership between parents and teachers needs to be strengthened for the successful management of asthma in students.