Deck 29: School Health

Question 1

Identify common health concerns of school-age children and associated health interventions.

Answer 1

The common school-age problems and their health interventions are described below as follows:
1. Substance abuse - The children could get the access to the alcohol, tobacco and drugs. There are criminal rackets, which are making the kids addictive to these substances. The children are easy targets as they could be easily convinced by the other drug abusers or drug dealers to use the substances. This makes the children physically and mentally unhealthy.
Health programs are needed to educate the students about the substance abuse, their effects and possible preventive methods. The schools could be properly monitored to avoid any such substance abuse. The counseling could be provided to the family and the community too.
2. Injury and violence - Children are prone to injuries as they could not control their physical movement very well. Violence could also be observed as many children are not aware of the consequences of fights and dangerous stunts.
Rash cycling and attraction towards the risky activities are also major cause of the injuries. Proper emergency facilities, medical kits and health education could be helpful in this regard.
3. Poor nutrition - The poor nutrition could lead to diseases, obesity and other deficiencies. The lunch program, promotion of healthy life-style and eating habits are the usual interventions used.
4. Infectious diseases - The children are prone to infectious and other diseases. The immunization plan and good health services are the interventions used to control the infectious diseases. Educating the children about the hygiene and diseases is also useful.
5. Lack of physical education - Lack of physical activities could make kids obese, lazy and unhealthy. The modern excessive use of cell phones, internet and television is prompting the children to stay in the homes for more time.
The children like the play station more than the play ground. The mandatory physical activities, promotion of sports and interaction with the family to encourage their kids to play more outside the houses, are the usual interventions.
6. Suicide attempts and stress - Stress could be because of peer pressure, educational stress and disappointment of underperformance. Adolescence could be, even, more susceptible to the stress and increased rate of suicide attempts. The counseling about stress and methods to cope with stress are good interventions.
7. Sexual behavior and STDs (Sexually transmitted diseases) - Sexual behavior in adolescence and chances of infection through sexual relations are major concerns of the children in the schools. Proper sex education, promotion of condoms and contraceptives, and moral education are the usual interventions.

Question 2

Interview a member of the local school board about controversial subjects in health education (e.g., sex education).

Answer 2

NO ANSWER

Question 3

Explore the various roles of the nurse in the school setting.

Answer 3

The primary health providers in the school are the nurses. There are more than 70,000 registered nurses employed by the schools in the country. It is recommended that there should be one nurse per 750 students, but, these standards are not usually met. The caseload is large and varies according to the socioeconomic status, mandated functions and service delivery model.
School nurses have to face the variety of problems from the students. Increasing number of children is being seen in the schools now because of the easier access to the medical help. The lack of healthcare in the community has forced parents to enroll kids to the schools.
Poor performance is regularly correlated with the health problem in children. Children are more susceptible to injury, violence, infections, and deficiency diseases. These health problems affect the performance of the children in academics and other extra-curriculum activities like sports and arts. The nurses are required to be sensitive to all these common health problems.
Through proper counseling, education, and promotion of healthy life-style a nurse could help the students to cope with these problems. Handling the accidents and injuries are the primary duty of nurses.
Children are susceptible to injuries and fights due to their care-free attitude. The first aid or emergency kit should be there with the nurses. There should be higher healthcare institutes near the school in case of any serious emergency for minimizing the time loss between the injury and the treatment.
The nurses should be consulted to devise the physical activity classes. The nurses could also help in the classes for understanding the first aid, during the minor injuries as a part of health education. The nurses need to handle adolescents carefully, when it comes to the sexual behavior, stress and other psychological problems. Her role should then be more of a counselor.

Question 4

Review the most common diseases and reported injuries in school-age children in your area. Develop a plan for how the school and the community can work together to decrease their incidence.

Question 5

Be familiar with the standards according to which school nurses practice.

Question 6

Interview the parents of several school-age children. Ask what health services they would like to see provided in the school setting.

Question 7

Cite several resources available to the school nurse.

Question 8

Arrange with the principal of a local school to have a discussion session with children in a particular grade level. Ascertain what their eating habits are and then develop a class that can enhance healthy eating.

Question 9

You are working as the school nurse in a rural high school when Grace, a 15-year-old female student, enters the clinic. Grace appears very worried, and, after several hesitant starts, she begins to cry and tells you that she is sexually active with a 17-year-old senior. She goes on to tell you that she has missed her last period and that her home pregnancy test result was positive. She states that she is afraid to tell her parents because she feels that they will be very disappointed in her and because she is afraid of what her father will do. She asks you where she can go to get an abortion. You speak with Grace for quite a while and encourage her to speak with her parents. She leaves the clinic a little more composed and promises you that she will think about what you have said. The next day Jenny, Grace's mother, comes into the clinic and asks to speak with you. She confides that she is worried about Grace and asks whether you know what is going on with her child. What would you do in this situation
Although maintaining confidentiality and a professional relationship respectful of the student's wishes is vital, state laws and school district policies determine what a school nurse may do, and in some cases is required to do, when providing care to minor children. In order to deal with personal and sensitive information such as described here, the school nurse should be well-versed in relevant laws and policies and should follow them. When in doubt, contact a supervisor.

Question 10

What is the cultural make-up of your local area How should this knowledge influence the school nurses' practice

Question 11

Explain how the Healthy People 2020 objectives can be used to shape school-based health care.

Question 12

Discuss how Healthy People 2020 can be used to shape the care given in a school health setting.

Question 13

Attend a meeting of the school nurse association in your area. Identify the major pros and cons of being a school nurse. Look at factors such as working conditions, number of children assigned to each nurse, job functions, and job satisfaction.

Question 14

Identify and discuss the eight components of a comprehensive school health program.

Question 15

Visit a comprehensive school-based clinic in your area. Discuss how the care given in this type of clinic differs from the care that a school nurse can provide. Review the protocols of both settings and see how they differ.

Question 16

Recognize the major stressors that can negatively affect an adolescent's mental and physical health.

Question 17

Log on to one of the websites for school nurses such as http://www.schoolnurse.com/ or https://www.nasn.org/ and review the many sign resources available.