Parents’ perception of the school nurse’s role

Abstract

Background: School nurses possess an essential role in treating and helping children maintain health. However, the full scope of their role has not been identified by parents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore parents’ perceptions of the role of the school nurse. Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. One hundred eighty parents participated in the study. The perception of the roles of school nurses was assessed by a 16-item questionnaire, which was adapted from a study by Kirchofer, et al. 2007. Results: The four most important school nurses’ roles perceived by the parents were providing first aid and emergency care to children, communicating with parents and health care providers in the presence of a problem, providing medical treatment, and preventing and controlling diseases. Conclusion: School nurses have many important roles, and while parents identified some essential roles, they did not recognize other vital roles as being very important. Increasing awareness of school nurses’ multifaceted roles among parents is essential so that they can utilize nurses’ expertise in maintaining their student’s health as well as tap into a key resource in the coordination of care for their child.