Researchers in the Bronx say one in five kids in the borough has asthma, but despite that, many teachers are unsure about how to manage a potential asthma attack in their classrooms. Health reporter Erin Billups has more on the findings.

The Bronx has the highest asthma rates in the city, which means more kids than average are showing up to schools there, who could potentially have an asthma attack.

"Asthma prevalence in the United States is about 9.6 percent, whereas in the Bronx, and especially in school age children, it's as high as 25 percent," says Dr. Marina Reznik, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Montefiore.

In her most recent study, a survey of 65 teachers at four Bronx schools - Montefiore Pediatrician Marina Reznik found nearly 70 percent of the teachers were uncomfortable assessing whether a student was having an attack or assisting them during an attack.

"One of the things that came out in our prior work is that the teachers didn't have enough knowledge of what to look for. What are the symptoms of asthma, and some of them were even afraid to do anything that was not part of their job," says Reznik.

She found only 30 percent of teachers knew of a written policy at their school on managing asthma attacks. The rest were eager to learn more but didn't know of any protocol, which made them less willing to take action. 

"Delay can lead to emergency situations that could have been prevented," adds Reznik.

The city departments of education and health point to a staff of more than 1,300 nurses and doctors employed in schools across the city as the first line of defense against asthma attacks.

The Office of School Health is looking to improve asthma management through programs collaborating with students' doctors.

The health department also plans to launch a new asthma case management program for students’ in kindergarten to 8th grade next year.

Reznik says parents also need to make sure a medication form is filed at school even if the child's symptoms are generally mild.

"Sometimes you can still have an exacerbation or asthma attack after the child is running a lot during recess or during gym, or they could have been sick with a cold and that exacerbated into an asthma attack when they're in school," says Reznik.

The study is published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.