Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is a large urban district serving approximately 130,000 students (K-12), nearly 48% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The CMS Asthma Education Program (AEP) is a collaborative program between the Mecklenburg County Health Department and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. With approximately 7,600 students with asthma identified within the district, the goal of the CMS AEP is to provide safe, supportive learning environments; increase student participation in academic and school activities; improve attendance; and build lifelong self-management skills for children with asthma.

The AEP is responsible for providing annual training and ongoing support to school nurses and school staff as well as asthma resources and materials. School nurses, working out of the health department, provide clinical care and education to their students with asthma as well as education for families, and school staff. Although many valuable programs and resources are in place, we know we are still not reaching all students with asthma. Many students may not know that they have asthma, or if they do, they may not seek medical attention, may not take their medications as prescribed, and their asthma may not be well controlled.

In December, 2006, AEP staff collaborated with the American Lung Association at a health and wellness expo as a part of the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon. Chris Draft, a professional football player formerly of the Carolina Panthers gave a heartfelt presentation about his own experience living with asthma and the challenge to learn to control his asthma symptoms so that he could achieve his goal of playing in the NFL. He relayed the importance of teaching children to learn all they could about the disease so they can control their symptoms so that they too can achieve their goals. As he left the stage, AEP staff approached Chris to discuss a possible collaboration. He expressed immediate interest and soon after, we began brainstorming. We realized we now had a public figure who was eager to help us reach children with asthma.

By January 2007, specific plans were underway. Chris shared a poster he had recently made with the American Lung Association of Georgia. We quickly adapted it, adding logos for CMS, Mecklenburg County Health Department, and Be Active NC for dissemination to schools in CMS statewide. With a photograph of Chris surrounded by students, the poster offers ten tips for living with asthma. School nurses used the poster to reinforce asthma teaching with their students. The message was powerful, “I have asthma and it has not stopped me from being a successful pro football player in the NFL for nine seasons! Remember, asthma can be controlled, so do not let it control you.” But this was just the beginning!

Later in January, we began our home town media campaign. Chris joined five CMS students and their families at CMS-TV studios to film a thirty-second asthma public service announcement (PSA) for television and for radio in both English and Spanish. In February, in the lunchroom of a local middle school, Chris and a group of students were photographed for a billboard promotion.  Next to the photo of Chris and six students, the billboard reads “Asthma Can’t Stop a Pro. Get checked! Get Fit” and includes the phone number for the CMS Asthma Education Program.

By March 12th, the asthma awareness campaign was launched into the Charlotte community. Radio PSA’s began airing on seven local stations that target diverse audiences. Billboards rose up at six locations around metro Charlotte. The TV PSA began playing on CMS-TV and will broaden into other network affiliates. A videotaped copy of the PSA is being distributed to all 162 CMS schools. Development, production, and distribution for this media project were supported through in kind contributions from our community partners, as well as DASH funding.

Outcomes:
The initiative is very new and happened quickly. We are beginning to see results. School nurses repot that the asthma posters are another are another useful tool to reinforce asthma teaching with their students. Every school nurse received a large asthma poster to display in her health office. One student was so excited to see that “Chris Draft has asthma just like me!” School nurses have distributed posters to their students with asthma and every child who has completed the American Lung Association program Open Airways for Schools receives a poster to take home. As a result of parents hearing the radio PSA and seeing the billboard, Asthma Education Program staff has begun receiving phone inquiries from parents asking for asthma information for their children. One mother relayed that her child was not on controller medications and used his inhaler about three to five times a week. She was provided with asthma information, education, and encouraged to follow up with her health care provider. In addition, the child’s school nurse was given the information to follow up with that student. With real CMS students in the billboard and PSA’s, students and staff at their schools are taking notice.

As we worked with Chris Draft through our asthma awareness media campaign, we were delighted to learn that he is a champion for children’s health issues. His philosophy centers on Coordinated School Health and addressing the health needs of the whole child, whether it be asthma, physical activity, or other health and wellness concerns. Although he is currently not playing for the Carolina Panthers, he continues to work with the CMS AEP and is a committed partner to upcoming projects. In May, along with CMS AEP staff and a CMS student, he will address the Mecklenburg County Commissioners and accept their proclamation declaring May 1, 2007 as Asthma Awareness Day and May as Asthma Awareness Month.

Lessons Learned:
Although the media campaign was not originally part of our work plan, it was consistent with our overall goal to raise asthma awareness. When the opportunity to collaborate with a high profile community partner presented itself, we realized we needed to SEIZE THE DAY!