HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AT SCHOOL

Schools should pertain to a comprehensive system to deal with day to dayemergencies, as children spend more than six hours at school and are liable to suffer frominjuries and illnesses. Objectives: This study was conducted with the objective of assessingthe experiences of students regarding healthcare management especially first aid patterns atschool. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Study was conducted on 50 studentsenrolled from ten identified public and private schools of Lahore Period: Six months. Methods:In depth interviews were conducted on students from classes 6-10 who had suffered from aninjury or illness during school hours within the last six months. Results: In these 50 studentsthe most common injury were fractures and dislocations (15), most common illness was fever(19). Majority (41) were managed at schools with a first aid facility and provision of sick rooms(28). Teachers were the main healthcare providers in private schools (17), as compared topublic schools (9). Lack of properly trained health professionals was observed; only 7 out of 50schools had employed nurses. Health education regarding hand washing, personal hygiene,dengue prevention was being provided in (45) schools. Conclusion: This study highlights theimportance of provision of first aid services at school and the need to train teachers regardingbasic life support. Implementation of the existing school health program needs to be emphasizedin all schools of Lahore.