The Roaring Adventures of Puff (RAP): A Childhood Asthma Education Program

Implemented in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada by MAS Consultants Inc., P.O. Box 5130 Aiken, South Carolina 29804.

The Roaring Adventures of Puff (RAP): Lessons Learned

Gain an understanding of who makes facility use decisions at school.

Every elementary school is managed and administered differently. Knowing who the actual decision maker (principal, designate, committee, school board) is for approving external use of school property is important. Getting into the school is often difficult. Once the decision is made to allow the program into the school, the front office is supportive. The school principal’s role in RAP success in the school was recently demonstrated in Taber, Alberta. The principal personally contacted every teacher in the school and phoned all the parents of children with asthma in the school to invite them to the parent-teacher asthma orientation and RAP overview. According to the RAP instructors, every teacher and every family was represented at the meeting, and the RAP program was extremely well received.

Partner with school health nurses.

In the rural schools especially, where RAP instructors are seen as outsiders from the city, having a health-care authority figure, such as the school nurse, in your corner is essential to acquiring entrance into the school and participation by teachers and parents. Without this relationship the approval success rate is low.

Be flexible with the use of the program.

Every element in the instructor’s tool kit does not always work every time. Learning styles differ among children. Instructors must accept this fact and adapt to it to make the program work in each instance. Recognize that some children are not as participatory in class as others and some children learn better when they are alone. The program was designed to address a variety of learning styles. Keying on those activities that appeal to the audience best improves the program’s success with children.