OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of physician-provided asthma education on absenteeism due to pediatric asthma. METHODS: This study was conducted using data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey, Sample Child Data Set (NHIS). Children were included in the study if they were diagnosed with asthma, reported to have asthma at the time of the survey, had an asthma attack in the past 12 months and were excluded if there was no data available on absenteeism. A composite score (0-6) was assigned for the comprehensiveness of the physician-provided education.  The dependent variable was the number of school/work days missed due to asthma over the last 12 months. The independent variables were gender, age, race, ER visit, prescription inhaler use and extent of physician-provided education. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the population and the amount of physician-provided education. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effects of physician-provided education on absenteeism over 12 months. SASv.9.2 was utilized for analyses. RESULTS: A total of 427 children were included in the final sample from amongst the 1,225 children suffering from asthma. The majority were White (54.8%), and males (59.3%). The median age was 9 years, median number of school days missed was 2 (mean=4.3, SD=7.9) and mean composite score was 3.28. Children whose parents received a higher than average comprehensive education (OR=2.18;CI=1.12-4.24) and used a rescue inhaler (OR=2.27;CI=1.44-3.60) were more likely to have a lower number of missed school days than those with less comprehensive education and not using a rescue inhaler. Lower absenteeism was reported among children who had an ER visit due to asthma (p<0.0001).  CONCLUSIONS: When comprehensive in nature, asthma education provided by physicians was found to have a positive impact on absenteeism among this population, suggesting that education is an integral component of asthma management in addition to drug therapy.