Two hour seminar improves knowledge about childhood XXXX in school staff.

@entity1 @entity565
Teachers and support staff are often called upon to manage @entity565 at school but may have little knowledge and understanding of the condition. The aim of this study was to determine whether a short seminar would improve knowledge in non-health professionals. Seventy school staff attended one of five 2 h seminars presented by an @entity565 educator. @entity1 completed the Newcastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ) before, and 2 months after, the seminar. The mean initial score (maximum possible 31) was 16.4 (range 4-26), increasing to 23 (range 13-29, P = 0.0001). There was a large increase in knowledge about symptoms, pathophysiology, preventive medications and side effects of medications. Initially almost all of the @entity1 had deficiencies in knowledge about reliever medications and the management of exercise-induced @entity565 . After the seminar, knowledge in these areas was still poor, with only one-third of the @entity1 answering them correctly. The results have been used to modify the content of the 2 h seminar with increased emphasis on those areas in which deficiencies in knowledge were demonstrated. No data are available yet as to whether this improved knowledge has improved management.
