Many Coaches Unprepared for Athletes’ Asthma

Only one in three children’s athletic coaches reports being adequately trained to deal with asthma symptoms in kids, a recent study found.  What’s more, just one in two coaches knew more than one asthma symptom according to the study’s lead author, Dr. Mary E. Cataletto, associate director of pediatric pulmonary medicine at Winthrop University in Mineola, New York.

Her study included 122 coaches who coached children between 6 and 18 years old in such sports as baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer and swimming.  The coaches involved in this study had actively sought out the asthma education programs at Winthrop University Hospital, according to Dr. Cataletto.

Other findings from the study include the following:

• "Only one quarter of the coaches surveyed could remember a single action they could take to assist an athlete who was having an asthma attack.


• 70 percent of coaches reported they had no immediate access to medical assistance during practice or games. 


• Just half of the coaches had taken either a basic life-support or first-aid training course during the past two years.


• More than 80 percent of coaches felt it was the athletes’ responsibility to carry their own medication. Most did not want to be directly involved in administering the medication.”

Dr. Jennifer Appleyard, chief of allergy and immunology at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, said, “This study tells me that as a doctor and a parent, I should be more concerned with what’s going on in sports, and I think coaches should know more about asthma. It’s a very common and potentially life-threatening condition.” Her concerns were echoed by Dr. Shean Aujila, a pediatric pulmonologist at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh.

All three experts said that it is clear that more education of coaches is necessary and that parents need to talk with their child’s coaches to make sure that the coach understands asthma and what symptoms to look for in their child.

A good way to get started may be meeting with your child’s coach or having your physician recommend a video created by the New York State Department of Health specifically for coaches, called Winning with Asthma available at: http://www.winningwithasthma.org

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