Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and school stock inhaler utilization in a statewide program.

Background: The burden of asthma is disproportionately experienced by children from marginalized populations, including those from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Children can benefit from support beyond the home to counter negative asthma outcomes. Schools can stock quick-acting inhalers to ensure access to medication for any individual experiencing respiratory distress. Objectives: This study evaluated the relationship between stock inhaler use within schools and socioeconomic neighborhood disadvantage of schools. Methods: An observational study examined stock inhaler events at schools utilizing data from the Illinois Schools Undesignated Albuterol Program in the 2023-2024 school year. Schools were assigned Area Deprivation Index (ADI) rankings based on the average ADIs of the school's census block groups and categorized into quartiles. Simple and adjusted zero-inflated mixed-effects beta regressions were conducted to assess the relationship between school ADI quartile and stock inhaler use. Covariates included school type, rurality, and proportion of non-Hispanic White students. Results: Of 2,171 enrolled schools, 279 reported a total of 675 stock inhaler events. Most events involved students ( Conclusions: We found that school neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with stock inhaler utilization in Illinois schools. Future research is needed to investigate the driving factors, as stock inhaler programs can help address disparities in access to asthma care among children.