Assessment of the knowledge of teachers about asthma and the availability of facilities for asthma care in public secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a common chronic illness affecting young people. Asthma management at schools may be influenced by teachers’ knowledge of the condition and the availability of treatment facilities. OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge of secondary school teachers in Lagos, Nigeria, regarding asthma and to evaluate management options available at schools. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Schools were selected by proportional sampling of the educational districts, followed by stratified single-stage cluster sampling. All consenting teachers in the 54 selected schools were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. A composite score was calculated, with 32 as the maximum possible. Knowledge was regarded as poor if scores were <16, fair for scores between 16 and 21, and good if scores were ≥22. RESULTS: Results show that 475 (48.1%) of the respondents had poor knowledge, 414 (41.9%) had fair knowledge, and only 99 (10%) had good knowledge. Better knowledge about asthma was associated with personal experience (χ² =16.466; p=0.001) or history of a family member with the condition (χ² =6.412; p=0.04). Of the 54 schools surveyed, only 9 (16%) had a school clinic, while a school nurse was available at only 4 (7.41%) of the schools. None of the schools had access to a nebuliser in case of an asthma emergency. CONCLUSION: Teachers in secondary schools in Lagos have unsatisfactory knowledge about asthma and are not equipped to support affected students during an asthma episode.