School Health for School-Aged Children

School Health Nursing

• School-aged children face many challenges related to health, and nurses are the primary health care providers.
• Behaviors are linked to the majority of leading causes of death (heart disease, cancer, injuries), such as:
  • Use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs
  • Poor nutritional habits
  • Inadequate physical activity
  • Suicide, violence, and reckless driving

Definition of School Nursing

• School nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being, academic success, and lifelong achievement of students.

Objectives of School Health

• Promote health and develop concern for their own health.
• Detect disease and deviation from normal health and arrange for treatment and follow-up.
• Prevent communicable and non-communicable diseases.
• Provide a healthy and safe environment.
• Help children to make the best use of educational facilities.
• Help children, their parents, and teachers to be health conscious and develop right attitudes towards health and illness.

Problems of School Children

• Elementary school children:
  • Infections
  • Injuries
  • Malnutrition
  • Dental disease
• High school students:
  • Alcohol and drug abuse
  • Injuries and sports injuries
  • Homicide
  • Pregnancy
  • Eating disorders
  • Cancer
  • Sexually transmitted diseases
  • Mental problems

Components of School Health Program

• Health and physical education
• Health services
• Nutrition
• Counseling, psychological, and social services
• Healthy school environment
• Health promotion for school staff
• Family and community involvement

Physical Education

• Sedentary life is associated with obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.
• Regular physical activity helps build and maintain healthy bones and muscles.
• Nurses should explain to students the importance of physical activity, such as walking, swimming, biking, jogging, jumping, playing, and running.

Health Services

• Health care provided in schools includes:
  • Immunizations
  • Health screenings
  • Emergency care and first aid facilities
  • Medication administration
  • Care of children with special health needs
  • Students' routine examination

Nutrition

• Nutritional teaching should focus on eating disorders, obesity, and nutritional education programs.
• Diets should include a proper balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, with sufficient intake of vitamins and minerals.
• Skipping meals and eating unhealthy snacks contribute to poor childhood nutrition.

Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services

• Children are vulnerable to depression, substance abuse, conduct disorders, self-esteem issues, suicide, and eating disorders.
• Many children live in single-parent households with little social or economic support.
• Nurses should explain to children the importance of promoting mental health and reducing psychological risks.
• The school nurse may help the child learn how to solve problems, how to cope, and how to build self-esteem.

Healthy School Environment

• School environment should be free of physical hazards and psychological threats.
• Nurses should focus on:
  • Construction of toilets and waste disposal
  • Water supply
  • Cleanliness of the compound
  • Violence

Health Promotion for Staff

• Health promotion programs for staff increase their health knowledge and positively change their attitudes and behaviors relative to smoking, nutrition, physical activity, and stress.
• Health promotion improves morale, reduces job stress and absenteeism.

Family and Community Involvement

• School nurses often provide health content to family, parents, and the community regarding:
  • Communicable disease
  • Substance abuse
  • Smoking cessation
  • Weight control
• Characteristics of at high-risk children include:
  • Child is not living with two parents
  • Household head is a high school dropout
  • Family income below poverty line
  • Child is living with parent(s) who do not have steady, full-time employment
  • Family is receiving welfare benefits
  • Child does not have health insurance

Role of Nurse in School Health

• Participate in planning and coordinating health programs in the school.
• The nurse is the school health consultant.
• Control the development and maintenance of a safe and healthful environment.
• Assist in screening physical, mental, and other special examinations of children in school.
• Assist in communicable disease control.
• Help to set up facilities and demonstrate first aid procedures.
• Conduct health programs.
• Assist in school medical examination and follow-up.