The Interventionist was trained on the implementation of the COPE intervention and will deliver the COPE for Asthma intervention. The intervention, delivered by Colleen McGovern -the Interventionist, will take place in a room within the school separate from other students. The room will include a door for privacy. The intervention will be once/week, 30 minute sessions, for 7 weeks - during lunch and/or recess time. Groups during lunch and recess, or "lunch bunch" groups, are routinely held in the school system by the social workers, guidance counselors, and school nurses. Participants will be given weekly tickets allowing them to get in line first to pick up their lunch to maximize the allotted time. If the material for a session is not covered (i.e., school-wide fire drill, lock down, or other unforeseen event), the session will be moved to the following week.
In the event a participant has severely elevated t-scores, \>=70, on the anxiety or depression screening tools or expresses feelings or intent to harm self or others (at any time point or otherwise), the principal, school nurse and/or guidance counselor/social worker will be notified for follow-up per the school district's protocol. A form letter will be sent to the child's CG that day. If child discloses accounts of abuse or neglect, Franklin County Children's Services will be notified and the principal, school nurse and/or guidance counselor/social worker.
Consent/assent of the CG and child and initial screening for anxiety/depression:SCARED and PROMIS measures; will be completed by the Interventionist and a research assistant, RA, from Dr. Melnyk's research team. Data collection and the intervention will start when \>=5 child/CG dyads have been consented/assented in a school.
Week 1 at baseline. To avoid bias, the Interventionist will serve as the interventionist and the RA will complete the data gathering. The measures for the child participants will be explained, then self-administered, and checked for completeness by the RA. The RA will conduct phone interviews with the CGs to gather data on demographics, controller medication adherence, and the Asthma Control Test. If phone contact is not possible, the surveys will be sent home with the child with sealable envelopes for the return.
Weeks 2 - 8. COPE for Asthma will be delivered in small groups (Interventionist may need to implement the intervention at several schools on different days; this is expected). Lessons include 30 minutes of didactic teaching and activities.
Post-Intervention Assessment, after the 7-week intervention. After the last COPE for Asthma session has been implemented in a group, a member of Dr. Melnyk's research team will administer the post-intervention follow-up surveys. CGs will be contacted to complete the parent/CG survey.
6-Week Post-Intervention Assessment. The same procedure as for the post-intervention assessment will be conducted for this time period for the children and CGs.
