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PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

CONTENTS PAGE

Introduction ……………………………………………... iv
What You Will Learn In This Course…………………… iv
Course Aim………………………………..................... iv
Course Objectives……………………………………….. iv
Course Requirements……………………………………. v
Course Materials………………………………………… v
Study Units…………………………………………… …. vi
Presentation Schedule……………………………........ …. vii
Assessment………………………………………………. vii
Tutor Marked Assignment………………………………. vii
Final Examination and Grading………………………… viii
Facilitators/Tutors and Tutorial…………………………... viii
Summary………………………………………………… ix
PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

PHS 302: School Health Programme- is a three-credit unit course


meant to be taken in the second year by all students offering the
first degree in community health programme. The materials have
been developed to suit students studying at a distance. The promotion
of the health of school children in schools is a critical step towards
quality achievement in education. School Health Services therefore are
actions taken by the health team in conjunction with the school
authorities, teachers and parents to promote the highest possible level
of health for school children throughout their years of study.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS COURSE

The course consists of 21 different units and a course guide. The


course guide tells you briefly what the course is about, what course
materials you will be using and how you can work with these
materials. In addition, it prescribes some general guidelines on the
amount of time you should spend on each unit of the course in order
to complete it successfully.

It gives you guidance with respect to your tutor- marked assignment,


which will be made available in the assignment file. There will be
regular tutorial classes for those of you offering the course. It is
advisable that you make yourself available for these tutorial classes. The
course will prepare you to be able to organise and implement school
health programme.

COURSE AIM

The course aims to provide you with an understanding of school health


programme and how to plan, implement and evaluate school health
service delivery.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

To achieve the goal of the course, each unit has its specific objectives.
You should read these objectives before you study the unit. You may
wish to refer to them during your study to check on your progress.
You should always look at the unit objectives after completion of each
unit. By doing so, you would have followed the instructions in the unit.
Set out below are the comprehensive objectives of the course as a
whole. By meeting the objectives, you can count yourself as having met
the aims of the course.

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PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

On completion of the course, you should be able to:

• discuss the concept of School Health Programme


• explain the health needs of the children.
• explain how to manage health conditions among school children
• describe the procedure for carrying out medical examination of
school children
• explain how to plan, implement and evaluate school health
services
• describe how to promote good school environment
• explain how to manage school food vendors
• discuss health education/hygiene in school health programme.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

To complete the course, you are required to read the study units and read
the sets of books and other relevant materials you may lay your hands
on. Each unit contains self-assessment exercises and at a certain point in
time you would be required to submit written assignments for
assessment purposes. At the end of the course you will be required to
write the final examination. The course should take you a total of about
21 weeks to complete. Below you will find listed all the components of
the course, what you have to do and how you should allocate your time
to each unit in order to complete the course on time and successfully.
This course requires that you spend a lot of time to read. I would
advise that you attend the tutorial sessions, where you will have the
opportunity of comparing your knowledge with that of other people.

COURSE MATERIALS

The main components of the course are:

1. The Course Guide


2 Study Units
3. References/ Further Reading
4. Assignments
5. Presentation Schedule

STUDY UNITS

There are 21 units in a total of four modules in this course. These are
listed below:
PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

Module 1

Unit 1 The Concept of School Health Services


Unit 2 Components of School Health Programme
Unit 3 Personnel, Parents and Community Involvement in School
Health Programme.
Unit 4 Assessment of Health Needs and Resources for School
Health Programme
Unit 5 Appraisal of Health Status of School Children

Module 2

Unit 1 Health and Hygiene Education


Unit 2 Healthy School Environment
Unit 3 Involving Children in Health Education
Unit 4 Evaluation of School Health Programme
Unit 5 Learning Disabilities

Module 3

Unit 1 Accidents, Emergencies and Management of Some Ailments in


Schools
Unit 2 The School First Aid Box and First Aid Care
Unit 3 First Aid Treatment of Some Chronic Ailments 1
Unit 4 First Aid Treatment of Some Chronic Ailments 2
Unit 5 Treatment of Common Ailments among School Children

Module 4

Unit 1 Vaccine Preventable Diseases


Unit 2 Control of Communicable diseases
Unit 3 Child Abuse
Unit 4 Sexual Abuse
Unit 5 Home Visiting
Unit 6 Evaluation of School Health Programme

The first and second modules focused on the concept of school


health programme, health & hygiene education in the school, school
meal services and learning disabilities. The third module focused on
how to manage accidents, emergencies and other common ailments in
the school. Module four focused on vaccine preventable diseases,
control of communicable disease, child abuse, home visiting and
evaluation of school health programme. Each unit consists of one or
two weeks’ work and include an introduction, objectives, reading
materials, exercises, conclusion, summary, tutor- marked assignment (
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PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

TMAs), references and other resources. The exercises and TMAs will
help you to achieve the stated learning objectives of the individual units
and of the course as a whole.

PRESENTATION SCHEDULE

Your course materials have important dates for the early and timely
completion and submission of your TMAs and attending tutorials. You
should remember that you are required to submit all your assignments
by the stipulated time and date. You should guide against falling behind
in your work.

ASSESSMENT

There are three aspects to the assessment of the course. The first is
made up of the self-assessment exercises, the second is the tutor–
marked assignments and the third is the written examination. You are
advised to do the exercises. In doing the assignments, you are expected to
apply information, knowledge and techniques you gathered during the
course. The assignment must be submitted to your facilitator for formal
assessment in accordance with the deadlines stated in the presentation
schedule and the assignment file. The work you submit to your tutor
for assessment will count for 30% of your total course work. At the
end of the course you will sit for a final or end of course examination
of three hours duration. This examination will count for
70% of your total course mark.

TUTOR– MARKED ASSIGNMENT

The TMA is a continuous assessment component of your course. It


accounts for 30% of the total score. You will be given four TMAs to
answer. Three of these must be answered before you are allowed to
sit for the end of course examination. The TMAs would be given to
you by our facilitator and returned after you have done the
assignment. Assignments questions for the units in this course are
contained in your reading, references, and study units. However, it is
expected that in a degree course that you should demonstrate that you
have read and researched more into your references, which will give
you a broader understanding of the subject matter.

Make sure that each assignment reaches your facilitator on or before


the deadline given in the presentation schedule a n d assignment f i l e. If
for any reason you cannot complete your assignment on time,
contact your facilitator before the assignment is due, to discuss
the possibility of an extension. Extensions will not be granted after the
due date, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

FINAL EXAMINATION AND GRADING

The end of course examination for the School Health Programme will be
for about three hours and it has a value of 70% of the total course
work. The examination will consist of questions, which will reflect the
type of practice exercises and TMAs you have previously encountered.
All areas of the course will be assessed. After you have completed the
last unit, make sure that you revise the whole course before the
commencement of the examination.

Course Marking Marks


Scheme
Assignment (TMAs )
Assignments 1-4 Four assignments, best three marks of
the
four will attract 30% of the course marks
End of course examination (10%
70% ofeach)
overall course marks
Total 100% of course materials

FACILITATORS/TUTORS AND TUTORIALS

There are 21 hours of tutorials provided for those offering this course.
You will be notified of the dates, time and location of these tutorials, as
well as the name and the phone number of your facilitator, as soon as
you are allocated a tutorial group. Your facilitator will mark and
comment on your assignments and keep a close watch on your
progress and any difficulties you might face and provide assistance to
you during the course. You are expected to mail your TMA to your
facilitator before the schedule date (a t least two working days are
required) . They will be marked by your tutor and returned to you as
soon as possible. Do not delay to contact your facilitator by telephone
or e-mail if you need assistance.

The following might be instances that you may need assistance and
would have to contact your facilitator when:

You do not understand any part of the study or the assigned


readings. You have difficulty with the self- test.
You have a question or a problem with an assignment or
with the grading of an assignment.
You should ensure that you attend the tutorials. This is the only
opportunity that you have, for face to face contact with
your course facilitator, to ask questions and receive immediate
answers, as well as be able to discuss your challenges.

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PHS 302 COURSE GUIDE

To derive much benefit from your tutorials, prepare a


question list before attending them. You will learn a lot by
participating actively in discussions.

SUMMARY

School Health Programme is a course designed to enable you


acquire the knowledge and skills that will make you provide
effective school health services. Upon completing the course you
will; understand the concept of school health programme and the
needs of the school child. Management of common health conditions
among school children, how to carry out medical examination of
school children, how to organise health services to meet the needs
of school children, how to promote good school environment and
how to manage school food vendors.

In addition you should be able to answer the following type of questions:


State the aims and objective of school health programme. Mention the
importance of school health programme. Explain the components of
school health programme. State the rational for needs assessment of
school children. Explain the prevention and control of common health
conditions among school children. Explain how to conduct daily
hygiene inspection of school children. Explain how to organise the
school health services to meet the needs of school children. Explain
the criteria for selecting school food vendors. etc.

I wish you success in the course and I hope you will find it interesting
and useful.

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MAIN

COURSE

CONTENTS PAGE

Module 1……………………………………………. 1

Unit 1 The Concept of School Health Services… 1


Unit 2 Components of School Health
Programme……………………………… 6
Unit 3 School Personnel, Parents and
Community Involvement in School
Health Programme………………………. 14
Unit 4 Assessment of Health Needs and
Resources for School Health Programme... 1
Unit 5 Appraisal of Health Status of School
Children…………………………………. 26

Module 2……………………………………………….. 33

Unit 1 Health and Hygiene Educationin Schools .. 33


Unit 2 Healthy School Environment……………… 40
Unit 3 Involving Children in Health Education…… 46
Unit 4 School Meal Services……………………… 53
Unit 5 Learning Disabilities………………………. 58

Module 3…………………………………………………. 68
Unit 1 Accidents, Emergencies and Management
of Some Ailments in Schools……………… 68
Unit 2 The School First Aid Box and First Aid
Care……………………………………….. 74
Unit 3 First Aid Treatment of Some Chronic
Ailments 1………………………………… 78
Unit 4 First Aid Treatment of Some Chronic
Ailments 2………………………………… 86
Unit 5 Treatment of Common Ailments among
School Children…………………………… 97
Module 4………………………………………………… 105

Unit 1 Vaccine Preventable Diseases………………… 105


Unit 2 Control of Communicable diseases…………… 115
Unit 3 Child Abuse…………………………………… 122
Unit 4 Sexual Abuse………………………… ……….. 128
Unit 5 Home Visiting…………………………………. 135
Unit 6 Evaluation of School Health Programme……… 139
PHS 302 MODULE 1

MODULE 1

Unit 1 The Concept of School Health Services


Unit 2 Components of School Health Programme
Unit 3 Personnel, Parents and Community Involvement in School
Health Programme
Unit 4 Assessment of Health Needs and Resources for School
Health Programme
Unit 5 Appraisal of Health Status of School Children

UNIT 1 THE CONCEPT OF SCHOOL HEALTH


SERVICES

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition of Terms
3.2 Concept of Health Promoting School
3.3 Definition of School Health Services
3.4 Goal of School Health Service
3.5 Objectives of Health Programme
3.6 Importance of School Health Programme
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References / Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This unit will serve as an introduction to the Organisation of School


Health Services. It will help you to have a basic understanding of the
concept of school health services.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• define some terms used in school health service


• state the concept of health promoting school define school health
services
• state the goal of school health programme
• mention the objectives of school health programme

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PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

• describe the importance of school health programme.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Definition of Terms

School is an institution for educating learners; it includes Early Child-


Care Centres (ECCC), Primary and Secondary Schools, and Non-
Formal Education Centres (NFE). School Community refers to all the
people living/working within the school premises including
pupils/students, the teaching and non-teaching staff as well as members
of their families Health, according to the World Health Organisation
(WHO) “is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Service is a system
or arrangement that supplies public needs. It could be organised by an
individual, group or the government. School Health Day, shall refer to a
day set aside annually to create awareness on health related issues in the
schools.

3.2 Concept of Health Promoting School

According to the WHO, a health promoting school is “one that is


constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living,
learning and working”. The characteristics of the school include:

• Fostering friendly, healthy and learning environment


• Integrating health and education officials, parents and the
community in the efforts to make the school a healthy place
• Providing healthy environment, skill – based health education
and school health services
• Striving to improve the health of learners, personnel and the
community
• Building capacity for security, peace, shelter, education, food,
gender equity, stable eco-system, social justice and sustainable
development
• Preventing leading causes of death, disease and disabilities in
the school community e.g. malaria, water borne disease,
infections, drug and alcohol abuse, HIV and AIDS, injuries, and
malnutrition
• Influencing health related knowledge, attitude, values, beliefs,
skills, and behaviours
The twelve (12) WHO criteria for a health promoting school

1. Active promotion of self-esteem of all pupils by


demonstrating that everyone can make contribution to the life
of the school child.

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

2. Development of good relations between staff and pupils and


among pupils in the daily life of the school.
3. Clarification of staff and pupils of the social aims of the school.
4. Prevision of stimulating challengers for all pupils through a wide
range of activities.
5. Use of every opportunity to improve the physical environment of
the school.
6. Development of good links between school, home and
community.
7. Development of good links among associated primary and
secondary schools to plan a coherent health education curriculum.
8. Active promotion of the health and well-being of the school and
staff.
9. Consideration of the role of staff as exemplars in health-related
issues.
10. Consideration of the complementary role of school meals (if
provided) to the health education curriculum.
11. Realisation of the potential of specialist services in the
community for advice and support in health education.
12. Development of the education potential of school health services
beyond routine screening and towards active support for the
curriculum.

3.3 Definition of School Health Services: define school health


services as

The various actions that are taken by the health team in


conjunction with the school authorities, teachers and parents to
promote the highest possible level of health for school children
throughout their years of study. It is essential that school children should
be physically well, mentally alert, emotionally and socially stabilised.

School health is usually considered as an integral part of community


health and of course an aspect of health education. It also includes
school activities a n d measurement that are carried out within the
community to promote and protect the health of the child and the school
staff. School Health Programme therefore comprises all projects and
activities in the school environment for the promotion of the health and
development of the school community.

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PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

3.4 Goal School Health Programme (SHP)

The main goal of the SHP is to improve the health of learners and staff
as responsible and productive citizens.

3.5 The objectives of SHP are to

• produce a well-adjusted physically vigorous child who is free


from disease
• produce individuals who know how to care for their health, the
health of the family and others
• bring about continuing appraisal of the child’s health status to
understand t he child’s health needs and offer supervision and
• guidance for the child
• prevent and control diseases
• encourage the correction of remediable defects
• make a child become aware of the importance of health and
develop healthy practices, health knowledge, attitude and
appreciation towards health
• develop healthy physical and psychological environment for the
• Child, provide first aid care in accidents and emergency
• promote a state of health, treat minor ailments, prevent diseases
and maintain the health of school population
• promote growth and development of every child taking into
consideration the child’s health needs
• create awareness of the collaborative efforts of the school, home
and community in health promotion
• develop health consciousness among the learners
• create awareness on the availability and utilisation of various
health related resources in the community
• promote collaboration in a world of interdependence, social
interaction and technological exposure in addressing emergent
• health issue
• build the skills of learners and staff for health promotion in the
school community.

3.6 Importance of the School Health Services includes

The school health services is needed because we know that the


children in the school form a large proportion of the population and are
targets for malnutrition, and some other diseases. If their health is taken
care of therefore, a large percentage of the population will be covered.
School children at this age undergo several physical, emotional and
developmental changes. These changes may create problem for the
school so the school authorities should recognise these problems and

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

give adequate solution. School age child comes to school and faces
many risks e.g. accidents, emotional stress, and also communicable
diseases. The school therefore is a centre of risk and so the school
authority should take action to solve the problem. The school should
care for the health of the child because teaching about health in
school is usually more effective than teaching elsewhere eg. in the mass
media.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit you have learnt the concept of health promoting school and
the twelve WHO criteria for a health promoting school .You also learnt
about the definition of school health, its goal and objectives as well as
the importance of school health for the promotion of the health and
development of the school community. You should at this stage be able
to define a health promoting school and the WHO criteria for health
promoting school. You should also be able to define school health, its
objectives and importance.

5.0 SUMMARY

This unit has focused on the concept of health promoting school as “one
that is constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for
living, learning and working” and also highlighted the twelve WHO
criteria for health promoting school. The unit defined school health
services as various actions that are taken by the health team in
conjunction with the school authorities, teachers and parents to
promote the highest possible level of health for school children
throughout their years of study, stated the objectives of school
health programme as well as its importance .

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Mention ten criteria for identifying health promoting school.

7.0 REFERENCES / FURTHER READING


Lucas, A. O. & Gilles, H.M. (2 0 0 3 ). “A Short Textbook on
Preventive Medicine for the Tropics”. ( 4th ed.). Arnold
Hodder , London: Sydney, Auckland and Toronto.
Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services. (1992 ) School Health
Session Plans. Training and Manpower Development Division,
Lagos, Nigeria.
Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria, National School
Health Policy.

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PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

UNIT 2 COMPONENTS OF SCHOOL HEALTH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Healthful School Environment
3.1.1 Objectives
3.1.2 Characteristics of Healthful School Environment
3.2 School Feeding Service
3.2.1 Objectives
3.2.2 Characteristics of School Feeding Services
3.3 Skill –Based Health Education
3.3.1 Objectives
3.3.2 Characteristics of Skill-Based Health Education
3.4 School Health Service
3.4.1 Objectives
3.4.2 Characteristics of School Health Services
3.5 School Home and Community Relationship
3.5.1 Objectives
3.5.2 Characteristics of School, Home and Community
Relationship
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Having gone through unit 1, you would have learnt the definition,
the concept and objectives of school health programme. This unit will
help you to understand the components of school health programme. Let
us have a view of what you should learn in this, as indicated in the
objectives below.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• identify the components of school health programme


• discuss each of the components of school health programme.

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

The component of school health services embodies a total programme in


health including all school activities that contribute to the understanding,
m a i n t e n a n c e and improvement of the health of the school
population. It includes all school health activities planned, organised and
conducted by the school under the jurisdiction of the teachers and the
school staff, they are:

3.1 Healthful School Environment

Healthful School Environment is one of the interrelated aspects of the


School Health Programme. The concept “Healthful School
Environment” denotes all the consciously organised, planned and
executed efforts to ensure safety and healthy living conditions for all
members of the school community. A healthful school environment
(physical, biological and socio-cultural) serves as a major determinant of
health and greatly influences the individual’s level of intellectual growth
and development. Provision of healthful school environment must be
guaranteed for efficient performance of staff and learners. All the
necessary services, facilities and tools needed for the physical,
social and emotional wellbeing of the school population must be
assured, provided, safeguarded and sustained.

3.1.1 Objectives

The Objectives of a Healthful School Environment are to:

• Create a healthy and safe learning environment in the school


• Provide adequate safe water supply and sanitation facilities for
use in schools.

3.1.2 Characteristics of Healthful School Environment

The major conditions required for healthful school environment include:

• Location of schools away from potential environmental hazards


• Protection of the school community from excessive noise, heat,
cold and dampness
• Provision of adequate buildings, constructed in line with
approved standards, with particular emphasis on facilities for
physically challenged learners
• Provision of an appropriate and adequate amount of furniture for
learners and staff
• Provision of an adequate number of gender-sensitive toilet
facilities

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PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

• Provision of adequate safe water supply and sanitation facilities


for the school community
• Provision of proper drainage and waste disposal facilities
• Provision of safe recreational and sport facilities
• Perimeter fencing of the school
• Observation of annual School Health
• Promotion of healthy human relationships in the school
community
• Promotion of health related-school policies
• Promotion of a maintenance culture.

3.2 School Feeding Services

School feeding services are aimed at providing an adequate meal a day


to all children enrolled in schools nationwide. The service builds upon
the Government’s current National Home-Grown School Feeding and
Health Programme (HGSF&HP) which aims to contribute to the
realisation of national and international initiatives for development.

3.2.1 Objectives

The objectives of the School Feeding Service are to:

• Reduce hunger among school children


Increase school enrolment, attendance, retention and completion
rates particularly among children in poor rural communities and
urban neighbourhoods
• Improve the nutritional status of school children
• Enhance the comprehension and learning abilities of
pupils/students.

3.2.2 Characteristics of School Feeding Services

The characteristics of school feeding services include:

• Provision of, at least, one adequate meal a day to school children


• Adequate sanitation and hygiene practices among food
handlers including routine medical examination and
vaccination
• Food fortification and supplementation
• Regular de-worming
• Promotion of health related-school policies.

3.3 Skill-Based Health Education

Skill-based Health Education is to promote the development of sound

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

health knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices among the learners. The
subject is also aimed at meeting the growth and developmental needs
and interests of learners.

Health education is education for life; therefore emphasis should be


placed on skills necessary for promoting appropriate behaviours and
practices as against just theory-based lessons.

3.3.1 Objectives

The objectives of Skill-Based Health Education are to:

• Provide information on key health issues affecting the school


community
• Develop skill-based health education curriculum for the training
of teachers and learners
• Provide participatory learning experiences for
the
• development of knowledge, attitudes, skills and desirable habits
in relation to personal and community health
• Evaluate learners’ progress towards healthy development.

3.3.2 Characteristics of Skill-Based Health Education

The following broad areas will be covered by the Skill-based Health


education Curriculum:

• Personal Health
• Diseases including HIV/AIDS
• Mental and Social Health
• First Aid & Safety Education
• Community Health
• Family Life Education
• Environmental Health
• Maternal and Child Health
• Nutrition
• Consumer Health
• Drug Education
• Ageing and Death (Bereavement) Education
• Parts of the human body
• Health Agencies.

3.4 School Health Services

School Health Services are preventive and curative services provided for
the promotion of the health status of learners and staff. The

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PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

purpose of the School Health Services is to help children at school to


achieve the maximum health possible for them to obtain full benefit
from their education.

School Health Services should include pre-entry medical screening;


routine health screening/examination; school health records; Sick
bay, First Aid and referral services. It shall also provide advisory and
counselling services for the school community and parents. Personnel
for School Health Services should include medical doctors, school
nurses, health educators, and environmental health officers, school
guidance counsellors, community health workers, dieticians,
nutritionists, school teachers and social workers.

3.4.1 Objectives

The objectives of school health services include:

• Provide basic services for disease prevention and management of


injuries in the school
• Build capacity of the school community to identify, treat,
and manage simple illness, injuries, infections and infestations.

3.4.2 Characteristics of School Health Services

Broadly, the School Health Services include:

• Appraisal of the health status of learners and school personnel


through pre-entry screening,
Routine medical and psychological examinations
• Health counselling of the school community by counsellor/social
worker
• Referral and follow-up health services between the school,
community and the health facilities
• Health screening and the maintenance of routine health records in
the school
• Prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable
diseases, through inspections, exclusions, re-admission,
educational measures, immunisation, sanitation and epidemic
control
• Provision of special health services for learners with special
needs.

3.5 School, Home and Community Relationship

The first health educators of the child are the parents, who shape the
child’s habits from infancy. Long before the child is ready for school,

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

the parents should secure needed immunisation and medical care and
inculcate good habits into the child. The success of the School Health
Programme depends on the extent to which community members are
aware of and willing to support health promotion efforts. Schools
should encourage parents and community members to make
inputs regarding the design, delivery, content and assessment of the
SHP so as to respond to their concerns and obtain their commitment. At
the same time, schools can play an important role in improving the
health and development of the community as a whole. For a balanced
development of the child, life at home should complement a healthy life-
style provided in the school; therefore’ regular contacts between schools
and homes are essential.

3.5.1 Objectives

The objectives of promoting school, home and community relationship


with regards to school health are to:

• Build and strengthen capacity for effective community


involvement and participation in school management.
• Improve advocacy and community mobilization to bring about
necessary support from Stakeholders.

3.5.2 Characteristics of School, Home and Community


Relationship

The characteristics of school, home and community relationships that


include:

• Home visits by teachers, school nurses and social workers


• Regular visit of parents to school
• Regular communication of the health status of the learner to the
home by the school health personnel and the teachers
• Active participation of the school in community outreach
activities and campaigns
• Active participation of the school in community health planning,
• implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Advocacy and community mobilisation for the SHP through
traditional and modern media
• The community involvement in the promotion of health related
school policies.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit you have learnt that components of School Health

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PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

Programme include Healthful School Environment, School Feeding


Services, Skill-Based Health Education, School Health Services and
School, Home and Community Relationship. You have also learnt the
objectives and the characteristics of these components.

5.0 SUMMARY

This unit has focused on components of School Health Services which


can be summarised as follows:

a. Skill – based Health Education This is a series of


learning experience directed towards developing
health- related knowledge and practices. This can be taught in
such area like nutrition, environmental health education, sex
education.
b. Health Services: This comprises all the procedures designed to
determine the health status of the child and to p r o m o t e
its m a i n t e n a n c e . It enlists the student’s co-operation
on health protection, informs parents of any defect that may have
been discovered by observation or screening procedures and
promotes immunisation programmes for the prevention of
disease.
c. Healthful School Environment: This is the provision of
wholesome surroundings for students and teachers. It
includes planning,
and supervising activities, procedures, facilities and
equipment
that can affect physical and emotional health.
d. School Home and Community Relations: This refers to the
co- operative efforts of the home, School and community on
matters affecting the health of pupils.
e. School feeding Service: This aims at providing an adequate
meal a day to all children enrolled in schools.
6.0 TUTOR -MARKED ASSIGNMENT
List the components of school health services and state their objectives.

7.0 REFERENCES / FURTHER READING


Lucas A. O. & Gilles H.M. ( 2003 ) “A Short Textbook on of
Preventive Medicine for the Tropics”. (4

12
PHS 302 MODULE 1

ed.) Arnold Hodder


Group, London, Sydney, Auckland and Toronto.
Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services , (1992 ) School
Health Session Plans. Training and Manpower Development
Division, Lagos, Nigeria.
Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria, National School Health Policy.
(2006).

13
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

UNIT 3 SCHOOL PERSONNEL, PARENTS AND


COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL
HEALTH PROGRAMME

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Establishing a Working Relationship with School
Personnel
3.2 Parents and Community Involvement In Schools
3.2.1 Involving Parents
3.2.2 Involving Parents Teachers Association
3.3 Organising Seminar/ Workshop for Teachers and Parents
3.3.1 How to Organise Seminar/Workshop
3.4 Maintenance of Personal Health by Teachers
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References / Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Having mastered the components of school health in unit 2, this unit will
help you to understand the involvement of School personnel, parents
and the community in school health programme. Before we do this let us
view what you should learn in this unit, as indicated in the unit
objectives below.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• describe how to establish a working relationship with school


personnel
• discuss the involvement of parents and the community in school
health programme
• state the role of teachers in health education.

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Establishing Working Relationship With School


Personnel

Ways of establishing working relationship with the school personnel are


as follows:

Having studied the objectives and components of the school health


programme, it is obvious that all the objectives cannot be achieved by
the health worker alone, effective and efficient teamwork is required. To
effect this, you as the health worker have to work with other
professionals to form a team for the school health services. The team
includes the teacher who is the prime member since he sees the
pupils daily and knows them best. Others are the school nurse, social
worker, psychologist, physical education instructor etc, where they are
available and of course the Primary health worker.

For the team to function well, a good working relationship must be


established. To achieve this, at the planning stage, the head of the
school will be visited, to inform him about the programme. It is at this
meeting that the health worker will enlist their co-operation, present
his programme and activities and discuss how to implement these
with them. Together, they can decide when he should visit during the
week, the pupils to be seen and also where he can examine the
children and a place to keep his charts and other health
documents in the school. The approach as a health worker is very
important for them to co-operate, as without their support, it would be
impossible to get the children to practice good hygiene.

3.2 Parent and Community Involvement

Partnership among schools, families, community groups and


individuals should be designed to share and maximise resources and
expertise in addressing the healthy development of children, youth, and
their families. The family, the school and the community each has
valuable resources that may be called upon to support schools and
school health programme. Within the community, many organisations
exist that influence the health, safety and learning potentials of
students. The essential functions of family and community
involvement in school health include:

Providing time, expertise, and resources;

Supporting student involvement in activities that support health;


Ensuring that students and their families receive needed health services;

15
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

Planning jointly to develop relevant and appropriate messages and


services; delivering clear, consistent messages that support health,
including high but attainable expectations and offering appropriate
role modelling.

3.2.1 Involving Parents

Parents involvement in their children’s education and health enhance the


health, self-esteem, and academic potentials of the children, as
well as empower the parents to be more responsible for the health
and education of their children. Regular communication with parents is
key to soliciting their involvement.

The following are ways parents can be involved in a coordinated school


health programme:

1. Health services: Parents with training in universal precaution


can be volunteers for school-based health services. The health
team with the assistance of the PTA can plan and
implement seminar/workshops for other
parents on first aid, disease prevention and control, and
injury prevention.
2. Health Education: Parents can volunteer to have a regular
column on students and family health in the schools newsletter.
Parents can ask teachers to require their students to share articles
on health with their parents. Parents can hold health education
workshops for other parents, and be involved in planning and
implementation of such workshops. Parents can teach or speak
about health related careers i.e. career counselling.
3. Physical Education: Parent (through the local PTA) can
help sponsor awards for participation in sports that also
encourage academic excellence.
Parents can work with the school’s physical education
department to plan and / or implement field days and school
dance performances or events.
4. School Nutrition Services: Parents can work with the school
personnel to establish a parent- student school nutrition
committee to help the nutrition services staff promote good
nutrition practices. Parents can work with the school
administration to invite other parents to eat at school with their
children at least once or twice a year. Parents could help the
school to organize a school party and invite some Role Models.
These role models may give support and encouragement to
students on a one - on -one basis.

16
PHS 302 MODULE 1

5. Counselling and Psychological Services: In most cases,


parents should be involved in any counselling and
psychological services provided to their children (unless
it is determined that it is not in the best Interest of the student).
Parent canbring students to appointments. Parent and school staff
members may collaborate to plan and implement training
sessions for other parents.

6. Healthy School Environment: The local PTA, or other parent


group, can work with the school administration to conduct an
evaluation of the school environment.
Parents can develop a school –sponsored project to improve some
aspect of the school environment. Parents can work with the local
school board to fund Projects to improve the school grounds and
facilities.

7. Staff Wellness Programmes: Parents can work with school


personnel to establish school staff wellness programs. Parents can
volunteer to assist in sponsoring staff health screening. Parents
can sponsor incentives for ongoing parent/ staff health
improvement programs (e.g smoking cessation, weight control,
exercise programs, and so Forth).

3.2.2 Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Parents and the community may also become involved in the


school health program through organisation such as PTA. PTA is a
non- profit organisation of parents, educators, students, and other
community members.

3.3 Organising Seminar/Workshop for Teachers and


Parents

This should be organised for the Parents. Teachers Association by the


health team to update their knowledge and skills in child health care
thus:

Workshop – this is designed for people who are experienced in their


own fields of learning. They will work together to find solutions to
given problems within a specified period of time. Seminar – a method
where a series of papers are presented on different topics under the same
theme. The health team should first determine the topics to be covered
during the seminar and the workshop.
For a Seminar

17
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

The following topics on health education will be presented.

a) Personal and environmental hygiene


b) Accident prevention Sex education Nutrition c) Dental Health
d) Immunisation
e) Dangers of smoking and drug abuse.

For Workshop

The following will be done,

screening for: Disabilities


Malnutrition
Fever
Epilepsy
Pallor/ sickle cell disease
Underweight.
Assign the topics to those who will present them and
Draw up a programme.
Decide on the materials that will be required for the workshop.
Inform those who will present, when they will by presenting and
their topics for presentation. Ensure that all materials are ready
before the day of the seminar or workshop.
All participants (parents and teachers) must be informed of time,
venue and objectives of the workshop / seminar.

3.4 Maintenance of Personal Health by Teachers

There is the great need for teachers to maintain personal health because
they are not only teachers but also role models for the school children.
The school children always try to copy what their teachers do and this
will result to desirable behaviours if the teachers are good role models.
Teachers will maintain good health by doing the following:

• Eating balance diet


• Washing hands before and after eating
• Washing hands after visiting the toilet
• Desisting from smoking, drinking alcoholic drinks and taking of
hard drugs
• Having adequate rest and sleep
• Taking regular baths
• Going for regular medical check-up and taking of immunization
as appropriate.
• Having regular exercise
• Keeping hair neat.
• Putting on clean clothes and shoes

18
PHS 302 MODULE 1

• Keeping nails short and clean


• Keeping the teeth and mouth clean.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit you have learnt how to establish a working relationship


with the school personnel, especially teachers as well as parents and
community involvement, i n c lu d i n g the Parents
Teachers Association, in school health programme. You should at this
point list other members of the school health team. You should also be
able to describe the different roles that parents can play in
order to contribute to a coordinated and effective school health
service delivery.

5.0 SUMMARY

This unit has focused on personnel, parents and community involvement


in school health programme – Effective and more coordinated s c h o o l
health programme requires a team effort. The school team includes the
teacher ,the school social worker, psychologist, physical education
instructor and the health worker. Parents, the community and the PTA
can be involved in the different components of school health programme
such as health service delivery, health education, physical education,
school nutrition services, counselling and psychological services,
healthy school environment
and staff wellness programme.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. As a school health worker, describe how you can form a school


health team.
2. Discuss how the school health team and the PTA can organise a
HIV /AIDS awareness day for the staff and students of a school.

7.0 REFERENCES / FURTHER READING

Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services , (1992 ). School Health


Session Plans. Training and Manpower Development Division
,Lagos , Nigeria.

Carlyon, P; Carlyon, W, McCarthy, A.R., (1998 ), Family and


Community Involvement in School Health, In: Marx, E.,&
Wooley, A.F .(with Northrop, D.), ( Eds, ). Health is Academic, A
Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs (pg 69 ). New
York:N.Y: Teachers College Press.

19
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

Virginia School Health Guidelines, ( 1999 ). In: T.P Keen. & N . Ford (
Eds,) Parents and Community Involvement (p92-95 ). Richmond,
Virginia: Virginia Department of Health.

20
PHS 302 MODULE 1

UNIT 4 ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH NEEDS AND


RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL HEALTH
PROGRAMME

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Rationale for Needs Assessment
3.2 Methods Used to Collect Information for Needs
Assessment of the School Child
3.2.1 Description of the Methods Used for Needs
Assessment
3.2.2 Guidelines for Prioritising the Needs Identified
3.3 Resources for Meeting the Needs of a School Child
3.4 Developing Project Activities
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References /Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In order to effectively implement the components of school health


services there is need to assess the needs of the school children as
well as the available resources which will give the health team a
baseline information to work with. This unit will enable you acquire an
understanding of the rationale for needs assessment of the school child
and how to conduct needs assessment. Before we do this let us have a
view of what you should learn in this unit, as indicated in the unit
objective below:

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

explain the rationale for needs assessment of the school child describe
the methods used to collect information for the needs assessment of the
school child explain the guidelines for prioritising the identified needs
discuss how you can assess the resources for school health programme.

21
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

3.1 Rationale for Needs Assessment of the School Child

The needs assessment of the school child is necessary before the


commencement of the school health services, because. It is necessary to
know how big the need is and how serious or dangerous to the school
children. If the need is assessed before and after intervention, it will be
possible to show the impact of the programme. It will assist us to decide
on the most appropriate way to deal with the need. It will assist in the
setting of your objectives when you know what they lack, then you will
have an idea of what to provide. The need assessment is more than the
sum of illnesses, injury or negative health behaviour, it also includes the
environment.

3.2 Methods used to collect Information for the Needs


Assessment of the School Child

There are four main methods of information collection. They are:

Observation- which is collection of information by watching and


listening.

Interviewing which involves discussion and questioning.

Review of records and documents which are written observations


and experience of other people.

Physical examination – examining the school child from head to toe.


Observation -What and how to observe; the children will be observed at
play when they are on break and also at work in the classroom. The
school environment will be observed for potable water supply, refuse
disposal f acilitie s , latrine, safe playground, and equipment. The
school environment must be conducive to the s c h o o l children . Also
the nutritional status will be assessed during the examination. After
collecting the information, you will come up with numerous problems
and your activities in that school must focus on the particular needs and
problems identified.

3.2.1 Description of Some of the Methods that Can be


Used to Assess School Health Needs and Resources

Teachers’ interview

• Questions are designed and directed to the parents or teacher


• The questions should cover all the objectives or needs of the
program with the intention to find out the teachers’ views and
suggestions

22
PHS 302 MODULE 1

• The interview is carried out by the health workers and each


teacher is interviewed separately.

Students’ Questionnaires:

• The questionnaire is designed and directed towards the students.


• They are usually set with many responses to be chosen from.
• The questionnaires are tested first before distributing them to the
children.
• The children fill in the questionnaires by themselves
• After filling, they are returned to the teachers or health workers
for compilation.

School attendance Records:

• A review of the school attendance register for that period will


show the rate of absenteeism to sickness and the types of
sickness.
Health Services / PHC Statistics:
• Statistics from the health facilities which give attendance record
of school children at the clinic, and the types of conditions they
present will serve as baseline for the implementation of the
school health programme.

3.3 Guidelines for Prioritising the Needs Identified

Faced with numerous needs and problems, the following guidelines will
help you in prioritising your needs.

• Determine which problems are most common and widespread.


• This will indicate which should be given the highest priority in
the health education and treatment programme.
• Distinguish between those diseases or problems that can be
controlled by health education, immunisation and those over
• which the health worker has no control.
• Try to prevent the problems you discover, from getting worse
either by drawing teachers attention to them or
• discussing with the parents to give their children whatever
• specialised care they need.

3.4 Assessment of Resources

Having determined the needs of the school children, the resources to


meet these needs are assessed. The existing facilities and equipment are
assessed to know if they will be adequate to meet the needs identified. If
necessary, the health worker will organise the school to generate

23
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

resources. Once the members of the community are made aware of the
identified needs and the danger of not meeting those needs, they will be
willing to provide the resources.

The mobilisation of the community for such is through the parent’s


teachers association. The School Health Personnel should realise that
people are the most important resource for any programme and should
therefore involve the various stakeholders. Resources needed may
include: People- health personnel, Teachers, social workers,
psychologist, and other people in the community; -Drugs and supplies,
first aid kit, water, transport, accommodation, etc

-Community Organisations: Non-governmental Organisations,


(NGOs), Community Based- Organisations, (CBOs), Community
Development Committees, PTA, etc.

3.5 D e v e l o p i n g Project Activities

Having conducted the needs assessment, the health team must draw
up a list of activities for the school health programme, within the limits
of available resources. This list must be put into a time-table or
schedule. The schedule must state the time for the beginning and
completing each activity, and who is responsible to see that it is done;
thus:

Activities How Where When By Whom With What

(Task) (Location) (Time) (Human (Material


(What is Resources) Resources)
to be

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, you have learnt the rationale for needs assessment of school
children, the methods for conducting needs assessment, guidelines for
prioritising the identified needs, the resources needed, and how to
develop project activities. You should at this time be able to state the
rationale for conducting needs assessment of school children as well as
be able to mention the methods used in conducting needs assessment.

24
PHS 302 MODULE 1

5.0 SUMMARY

This unit has focused on the rationale for needs assessment of the
school child -which is necessary before the commencement of the
school health services programme in order to have base-line
information for project implementation and subsequent evaluation.

The methods used for collection of information were also discussed and
these include observation, interviewing, review of records and
documents, and physical examination of the school children. Guidelines
for assessment of identified needs and how to assess available resources
as well as how to schedule project implementation were discussed.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

At the commencement of school health programme in a rural - urban


community of your choice, describe how you will conduct needs
assessment of the school children.

7.0 REFERENCES / FURTHER READING

Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services (1992) . School Health


Session Plans. Training And Manpower D e v e l o p m e n t Division
,Lagos , Nigeria.

Peter Olise ( 2007 ). Primary Health Care for Sustainable Development:


Ozege Publications, Abuja, Nigeria.

Mcmahon, R. ; Barton, E. ; Piot, M. (1980 ). On Being in-Charge; A


Guide for Middle-Level Management in Primary Health Care.
WHO , Geneva.

25
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

UNIT 5 APPRAISAL OF HEALTH STATUS OF


SCHOOL CHILDREN

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition of Appraisal Of Health Status
3.2 Objectives of Appraisal
3.3 Different Techniques of Appraisal of Health Status of
School Children
3.3.1 Health History
3.3.2 Health Examination
3.3.3 Health Observation
3.3.4 Health Screening
3.4 Conditions That Can Be Screened By Teachers and
Parents
3.4.1 Test for Vision by Parents
3.4.2 Test for Hearing by Parents
3.4.3 Screening for Epilepsy
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References /Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Since you have studied unit 4 you would have understood the
rationale for doing a needs assessment for school children and the
methods used, the appraisal of health status of school children and
the various techniques used. Before we do this, let us look at the
objectives of the unit, viz;

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to;

• define appraisal of health status


• state the objectives of appraising health status
discuss the different techniques involved in appraising the health
status of school children.

26
PHS 302 MODULE 1

3.0 MAIN CONTENTS

3.1 Definition of Appraisal of Health Status

This is the evaluation of the health status of school children by a variety


of procedures. It is the quality of health that is assessed through the use
of teachers, observations, screening tests, health history, dental
inspection, medical examination and psychological test. These tests
may involve the parents, teachers and the health worker concerned.
Specific screening tests may include test for vision, hearing, growth and
development, dental inspection and speech.

3.2 Objectives of Appraisal of Health Status: The Objective


of Appraisal of Health Status are

To determine the health status of school children: (the level of health /


wellness). In cases of deviation: to institute quick intervention thereby
limiting disability and to inform parents of child’s impairment or
disability for medical, physical and social services.

3.3 Different Techni ques of Health appraisal

The different t e c h n i q u e s f o r the health appraisal of school


children are as follows:

3.3.1 Health History

This is the technique used in school to determine the present and past
health history of the child.

The information is usually obtained from parents or from the child


Use a questionnaire to get information from parents through the child

• By oral questions
• By visitation to parents’ homes
• By check list – the child will mark the one that affects him on the
list.

The information will include the child’s personal information – name,


parents, and home. They will also contain child health information e.g.
Mental health, health related behaviour and certain behaviours that are
not related to diseases e.g. Truancy, Kleptomania. The health history is
very important as it serves as a guide to medical information and also
serves to determine the health status of the child.

27
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

3.3.2 Health Examination Includes

Medical examination
Dental examination

This should be done by the teachers and the health workers when
looking for evidence of ill health and conditions that affect health.
Medical examination can be done when a child wants to enter school
or can be done at intervals of 2-3 years in the school or done annually in
the classes to determine their health. Medical examination is case
finding rather than just diagnosis. In all school medical examination
acquaint both teachers and pupils with the importance of these
medical examinations:

• They help to detect disease present in the child


• They serve as a means of counselling
• They are also a means of health instructions
• They can help to develop scientific attitude towards health.
• Health Examination includes personal interview whereby
• you can determine child’s interest, recreational abilities and his
choice of friends. It includes the following examination/tests:

Blood pressure, urinalysis, serological tests, visual/ hearing acuity test


Teeth and gum inspection, temperature, weighing/ assessment of
nutritional status Nose, throat, eye examinations goiter, skin, heart, chest
and lung examinations.

3.3.3 Health Observation

This means the casual or formal observations made by the


teachers, community health officers and parents in relation to child’s
health. It would be done by.

i. Inspecting the child generally to detect any abnormalities e.g.


watery eyes, rashes, and refer to any medical institution.

ii. Observation – How the child looks. Observation will include


these major ones: His progress at school, violation of law, speech
and language, personal symptoms, skin rashes and weaknesses,
can also observe the eyes, if they are watery, swollen or how he
holds his book, observe the ear- any discharge, earache, noise in
the ear, does he do lip reading?, is he always restless, inattentive,
and disruptive?, does he shout?

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PHS 302 MODULE 1

3.3.4 Health Screening

This is described as investigations carried out by teachers, community


health officer, physicians to assess children in order to determine those
who need further treatment. Health Screening consists of those
preliminary evaluations of vision, hearing and other functions and
conditions administered by teachers or health workers to screen out
those children needing further examination and diagnosis by qualified
specialists.

The types necessary for the school child are:

Vision test
Hearing loss test
Growth and weight assessments
Chest X- ray
Mantoux test
Review of absenteeism

Physical inspection of the child

1. Vision Testing: Different instruments are used for measuring the


sight/ vision.

Look for obvious eye diseases in a child and these are evidenced
by Swelling of the eye Inflammation Redness Pain Burning
sensation Photophobia. The actual test is done by using the
Snellen’s or E chart. Procedure: For vision test using Snellen’s
chart. The instrument is hung at one side of a hall or room facing
a source of light.

2. Explain purpose and procedure

Stand or sit patient six metres from the eye test chart (Snellen’s)
Test one eye at a time. Cover the other eye using the palm of the
hand or a cardboard. Starting from the top line of the test chart,
the examiner asks the patient to read the alphabets in the chart,
line by line.
The last line that is seen correctly is the visual acuity for the eye.
Then record the visual acuity accordingly at the side of the
student’s record.

a. Visual acuity is expressed as a fraction e.g. 6 / 24 where the


numerator (6) indicates the distance of the patient from the chart,
the enominator (24) is the distance at which a normal eye can
read the particular line on chart at which the pupil stopped being

29
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

able to read.

b. Hearing Test: The different ways by which you can identify


hearing problems are by observation: For example:

i. A child who always says “pardon me” consistently


ii. A child who does not respond when called
iii. A person who must turn his eye towards the speaker before
he / she can hear
iv. A child who is restless in class may be a sign of frustration
when he cannot hear
v. A child who shouts when he speaks to others.
vi. A child whose speech is below his age.
By different test eg

a. Whisper test
b. Watch test
c. Turning fork test

The hearing test as done under PHC has been fully described
under the unit on care of the disabled.

3. Weight and Height Test: Weighing machine is used for weight


while metre ruler for height. Weight measures should be done at
least three times in the year. We then compare the past weight of
the child with the new weight.

4. Mantoux Test:
Has been described under Diagnostic Services

5. Physical Inspection of the Child: This is to assess the general


fitness of a child to find out whether the child is fit to perform
the school work and physical activities.

After every test has been conducted, the findings are recorded in the
Health History Form Height and Weight Charts Observation Forms
Cumulative Health Records.

3.4 Conditions That Could be Screened by Teacher and


Parents- These Include

• Poor visions or visual disability


• Hearing disability
• Learning disability
• Malnutrition
• Epileptic fits

30
PHS 302 MODULE 1

• Pallor

3.4.1 Test for Vision by Teachers/Parents

• The examiner will stand about six metres away from the child
• Hold three fingers of one hand up
• Ask the child to count from that distance or
• To hold up the same number of fingers as the examiner
• If he cannot do either, then it means he has difficulty in seeing
• Find out if problem is in the night/ dark only or in the daytime.

3.4 2 Test for Hearing by Teachers and Parents

(This could be done using the counting method)

• Have child seated on a chair


• Examiner sits three metres away in front of the child.
• The examiner calls out some numbers making sure the
child cannot see his/ her lips. The examiner covers his/ her
mouth with his /her hand or paper but without allowing the hand
or paper to touch his/ her mouth so that the words do not get
distorted.
• The child is instructed to call out the number or hold up
appropriate number of fingers corresponding to the numbers
called.
• If the child cannot call out the numbers or hold up
appropriate numbers of fingers, then it means he /she has a
hearing disability.

3.4.3 Screening for Epilepsy

A child with epilepsy occasionally manifests with the following:

• Sudden insensibility
• Momentary loss of memory
• Convulsive movements (fits)
• Production of foaming saliva from the mouth during the fits.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit you have learnt that appraisal of health status of school
children is the evaluation of health status of school children by health
workers, teachers and parents. You studied the objective of appraisal of
health status as well as the different techniques involved in health
appraisal of school children –including history taking physical
examination, health observation and health screening. You should at

31
PHS 302 SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

this point be able describe the different techniques used in health


appraisal.

5.0 SUMMARY

This unit has focused on the definition of health appraisal which is the
evaluation of health status of school children. It can be carried out
by health workers, teachers and parents. The objective of
performing health appraisal is to determine child health status, to
treat if child is unwell or to inform parents of any defect or disability.
The different techniques of health appraisal include history taking,
medical and dental examination, daily inspection and observation of
school children and various health screening such as vision test,
hearing loss test, growth and weight assessment ,chest x-ray, Mantoux
test, etc.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. In your own words describe how parents can assess children


under five years of age for the following:

(a) Hearing.
(b) Vision

7.0 REFERENCES / FURTHER READING

David Brain Meredith; “Community Health and Social Services”.


Hodder and Stoughton. London Sydney Auckland Toronto.

Brook M. Stewart et al, (nd.). “Turner’s Personal and Community


Health” (16 Toronto. ed.) London: V. Mosby Company St.
Louis

Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services (1992 ). School Health


Session Plans. Training and Manpower Development Division.
Lagos , Nigeria.

32

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