Assessing the effect of high school students' training program on peers performance suffering from asthma

BACKGROUND: Asthma is the most common disease in childhood which is considered as the forerunner of the acute diseases and simply can cause disability among the children. Since childhood and adolescence are the most important periods of growth and perfection and incidence of asthma can bring about distortion in this process, the present study done aimed to assess the effect of conducting high school training program on peers’ performance with asthma. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study in which the performance rate of the students at the time of artificial attack of asthma was directly observed, assessed and compared through demographic data questionnaire and performance assessment check list. Eighty individuals from the second grade of high school students in 2010 in Isfahan City were randomly selected to participate in the present study, among which, 40 individuals were entered in the test group and 40 of them also were placed in the control group. After conducting the training program for the test group, which had been designed both by direct method (in person and face to face by asking and answering and group discussion) and by indirect method (using pamphlet and other educational materials), the level of the training effectiveness was assessed on the students' performance. RESULTS: The findings of the present study indicated that the performance of students at the test group increased from 2.2 (0.6) to 91.8 (1.3) which emphasized that the training program for the young adolescent peers had a positive effect on promoting their health. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the results of the present study and regarding to the importance and role of students as the future makers of the country, and also the cost-effectiveness of the training programs and the positive effect of peers on increasing the level of health among the students with asthma and consequently decreasing the school absence, it obviously seems necessary to generalize and expand these training programs.