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Health Care Professionals
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Follow the links below to information prepared especially for you!
- School and District Officials
- Teachers and Students
- Facilities Staff
- Parents
- Health Care Professionals
- The Media
Envisioning Excellence: Lessons from Effective School Indoor Air Quality Programs. Learn more about this exciting tool.
How Do I Know if Health Problems in a School Might Be Related to IAQ?
Students and teachers may experience a variety of health problems while in the school building. To determine if these health problems may be related to poor IAQ, look for the following tell-tale signs:
- Complaints are associated with particular times of the day or week
- Other occupants in the same area experience similar problems
- The problem abates or ceases, either immediately or gradually, when an occupant leaves the building and recurs when the occupant returns
- The school has recently been renovated or refurnished
- The occupant has recently begun working with new or different materials or equipment
- New cleaning or pesticide products or practices have been introduced into the school
- Smoking is allowed in the school
- A new warm-blooded animal has been introduced into the classroom
Learn more about IAQ-related health problems in the Health Officer/School Nurse Checklist inside the IAQ TfS Action Kit (EPA 402-K-07-008). To learn more about the Action Kit and order a copy, visit our IAQ TfS Action Kit page.
EPA and the Health Care Community
Does EPA Collaborate with the Health Care Community on School Health Issues?
Yes. EPA provides targeted education programs for health care providers and insurers about environmental management of health conditions that can be affected by air quality. EPA also promotes IAQ management in schools to reduce student and staff exposures to indoor environmental pollutants that can cause health problems. We encourage insurers and health care providers, who work in schools and elsewhere, to use EPA’s no-cost materials and resources to educate themselves and their patients about IAQ problems.
How Can EPA Help Me Treat Patients Who Spend Time in Schools?
EPA develops and shares sound science on the links between school environmental quality and student, teacher, and staff health and performance. Visit EPA’s Healthy Schools Website, www.epa.gov/schools, to find detailed information on a wide range of environmental health issues that schools face, such as lead in school drinking water, chemical exposures, and guidance on school chemical management, diesel fumes from school buses, and many other issues.
EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) Program provides materials at no cost to share information about IAQ problems in schools, common health effects, and recommended measures that schools, communities, families, and health care professionals can take to manage IAQ in schools. The IAQ TfS Program addresses indoor contaminants, including:
- Mold and moisture control
- Environmental tobacco smoke
- Asthma triggers such as dust mites, cockroaches, and other pests, animal dander from classroom pets, nitrogen dioxide, and pesticides
- Radon
- Chemicals in school buildings, such as formaldehyde and nitrous oxides
- Outdoor pollutants that enter school buildings, such as fungal spores, pollen, and vehicle emissions
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in school cleaning products, materials, etc.
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To learn more about common symptoms associated with exposure to indoor air contaminants, visit the Common Symptoms page and order or download "Indoor Air Pollution: An Introduction for Health Professionals" co-sponsored by: the American Lung Association (ALA), The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and The American Medical Association (AMA).
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How Can I Answer My Patients' Questions about How Air Pollution Can Affect Their Asthma?
EPA's AIRNow Website can help you help your patients protect their health by reducing their exposure to air pollution. The site includes information about the cardiovascular and respiratory health effects associated with outdoor air pollution exposure and educational materials for your patients. The site also features a medical poster, a downloadable fact sheet on asthma and outdoor air pollution, and a new Web-based training course for health care providers, Ozone and Your Patients' Health.
Learn More About Environmental Management of Health Risks
Online CMEs – EPA promotes environmental management of asthma and is dedicated to improving and expanding the delivery of comprehensive asthma management programs to reach more people, more effectively. To help educate the health care community about environmental asthma triggers, EPA worked with America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) to develop a free, online, continuing medical education (CME) course available at: www.aaaai.org/members/cme_ce/environmental_management
Learn more about the environmental component of comprehensive asthma management.
The IAQ TfS Action Kit's School Health Officer Checklist discusses three major topic areas: Student Health Records Maintenance, Public Health and Personal Hygiene, and Education Health Officer's Office.
- PDF Version (PDF, 2 pp, 87KB, About PDF)
- MS Word Version (DOC, 2 pgs, 156 KB)
How Can I Protect Air Quality at Schools in My Community?
Health care professionals can be powerful advocates for improved school air quality. If you want to promote awareness of IAQ problems in schools, the effects they can have on student and staff health, and simple steps the schools community can take to safeguard school health, download or order the IAQ TfS Action Kit.
The most effective School IAQ Management teams often include a health care professional who is passionate about protecting children from environmental health threats. Use your voice to promote school IAQ management and other environmental health issues in schools. Use EPA’s no-cost materials and guidance to help you be a hero for children’s environmental health in your community.
The Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts has a dynamic and far-reaching registry that connects school nurses with primary care providers, area clinics, and hospitals. CHA's Chief of Pediatrics explains that the health system has a "blurry boundary around the community," where "health care, school nurses, and home visits fall under the auspices of CHA.
- For more information , see - www.challiance.org/
The Asthma Network of West Michigan (ANWM) educates school personnel from teachers, nurses, and principals, to physical education teachers, secretaries, and anyone else who may come into contact with an asthmatic child. The Grand Rapids School system staff benefits from the added training they receive from ANWM, it enables them to understand asthma symptoms and to effectively intervene with their students before it is too late.
- For more information , see - www.asthmanetworkwm.org/
How Can I Help My Patients Manage Asthma in Schools?
Fast Facts About Asthma
- An average of one out of every 13 school-aged child has asthma
- 14.7 million school days are missed each year due to asthma
- Asthma accounts for one-third of all pediatric emergency room visits
- Asthma is the fourth-most common cause of pediatric visits to the doctor's office
A recent study by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) found that 41 percent of the children with asthma surveyed had as many as three asthma episodes each month at school. The most successful technique for managing asthma in the school environment is avoiding “triggers,” which are indoor allergens or irritants that can cause asthma episodes or an allergic reaction.
Untreated or unrecognized asthma and allergy symptoms brought on by classroom triggers can interfere with participation in sports, school trips, physical education classes, and play activities. They can also interfere with a child’s energy level, concentration, attention span, cognitive functioning, and peer relations.
Health care professionals can encourage parents to make school personnel aware of their child’s asthma or allergy condition so that school officials can help the child avoid triggers. Diagnose your patients' environmental asthma triggers and suggest that parents share your diagnosis with their child's school.
To learn more about ways to manage asthma in schools, download the IAQ Tools for Schools Bulletin on Asthma and Allergies and the Managing Asthma in Schools brochure. Display and distribute materials on managing asthma in schools in your waiting room.
How can I Teach Parents and Caregivers to Manage Asthma at School?
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Managing Asthma in the School Environment
This guide offers valuable information for all school staff, especially school nurses, teachers, and maintenance staff, on how to identify and control common environmental factors in schools that trigger asthma attacks. Resources include an "Asthma Action Card" which can serve as a daily asthma management plan. School nurses can share these resources with parents to raise awareness of asthma triggers and to help manage asthma at home and school effectively. Also included are easy tips for managing asthma in schools, including using the IAQ TfS Kit and Program to improve IAQ in the learning environment.
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Help Your Child Gain Control Over Asthma is a low-literacy asthma management guide. It is filled with tips on managing asthma by developing a management plan to apply at home, school, and other places where children spend time. It also introduces some simple steps to minimize exposure to asthma triggers found indoors and outdoors. Download the brochure below or order copies from IAQ INFO to distribute in your waiting room.
Ayude a su niño a controlar el asma
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The Problem Solving Wheel is an interactive, user-friendly tool that EPA designed to help school staff identify IAQ emergencies and determine actions to take in an emergency IAQ situation. This resource was designed to help school staff understand various factors related to the indoor environment, such as odors, temperature and humidity problems, illnesses, symptoms of health problems, explanations of and solutions to common problems. The problem solving wheel is included in the IAQ TfS Kit and is available for order separately.
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Visit the Publications page of this Website to view a list of all IAQ in Schools publications and learn how to order materials from EPA at no cost.
Does EPA Provide Materials at No Cost for Health Plans, Providers, and Patients?
Yes. Health care professionals can obtain materials at no cost. You can order copies of our materials and share them with patients in your waiting rooms, during clinical visits, or as part of your plan’s outreach materials. Help your patients understand how environmental factors might affect their health and what they can do to manage the environments where they spend time.
Distribute Materials in Your Waiting Room
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Mold in Schools Fact Sheet The Mold in School Fact Sheet provides an organized summary of information related to facts of mold growth in school buildings and portable classrooms. Concern about indoor exposure to mold has been increasing as the public becomes aware that exposure to mold can cause a variety of health effects and symptoms, including allergic reactions. Parents are especially concerned about the conditions of school buildings and how mold may affect their children. Because of the mold risk and media attention, school administrators should understand the mechanics of mold growth and take steps to avoid the moisture and mold problems.
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Find Information on Healthy School Environments Faster
Fact Sheet This fact sheet offers a brief overview of the Healthy School Environments Website. EPA created the Website as a "one stop shop" to provide valuable information for facility managers, school administrators, school nurses, parents, architects, engineers, teachers, students, and the general community on various school environmental health and safety topics important to improving the quality of school facilities. Included on the Website are links to environmental health and safety resources developed by EPA, other federal agencies, state and local governments, and non-government organizations.
A software tool is now available to assist school districts establish and manage comprehensive school facility self-assessment programs. The Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT) contains a fully integrated environmental health and safety checklist and is designed to be easily customized to reflect state and local requirements and policies. Go to the HealthySeat Website |
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IAQ TfS Bulletin: Asthma and Allergies
The bulletin presents information about asthma triggers found in schools, ways to manage asthma, several schools and organizations that are making IAQ a priority, and the release of EPA's mold guidance document.
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Play an Asthma Video in Your Waiting Room
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Controlando los Factores del Asma
This Spanish language video describes common environmental asthma triggers found indoors and out. In the video, doctors talk about asthma and its effects on children, and families describe their experience with asthma and simple steps they take to manage asthma triggers. Order copies of the video at no cost by calling IAQ INFO at 1-800-438-4318.
EPA estrena un nuevo video en Español acerca del asma, Controlando los Factores del Asma. Para ordenar una copia, llame 1-800-438-4318. |
Help Your Pediatric Patients Learn About Asthma and Have Fun
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Dusty The Asthma Goldfish and His Asthma Triggers Funbook Check out Dusty The Asthma Goldfish and His Asthma Triggers Funbook; a great display for patient waiting rooms. The Funbook includes children's games to teach children and their parents about asthma triggers and how to avoid them.
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Visit the Publications page to view a list of all of our schools publications and resources.
How Can I Order EPA Materials at No-Cost?
You can order Indoor Air Quality publications from EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP):
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242-0419
Website: www.epa.gov/nscep
Phone: 1-800-490-9198
Fax: (301) 604-3408
E-mail: nscep@bps-lmit.comNSCEP operates a Toll-free phone service for EPA Publication Assistance with live customer service representative assistance Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:30pm eastern time. Voice Mail is available after operating hours. You can fax or e-mail your publication requests. For technical assistance with NSCEP web pages, write to: nscep_nepis.tech@epa.gov
Please use the EPA Document Number, which is usually bolded or highlighted, when ordering from NSCEP. See our list of publications at www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs
How Do I Order Other EPA Publications? Click Here