Research Information System
E-Journal of Dokuz Eylul University Nursing Faculty, vol.16, no.3, pp.289-303, 2023 (Scopus)
Background: Chronic illnesses are gradually affecting the world population and school-age children are taking their share. Objectives: The study was carried out to determine the chronic illnesses seen in children in primary and secondary schools in a province located in the south of Turkey. Methods: The sample of the descriptive study consisted of 240 schools. Data were collected from school administrators via e-mail with a questionnaire created by the researchers. They were used mean, number, percentage distributions and chi-square in the analysis of the study. Results: It was determined that 51.2% of the schools participating in the study were in the city centre, 78.8% were at the primary education level, 15.8% had a health office, and 34.2% of the schools with a health office had nurses. In 84.2% of the schools, there is at least one student with a chronic illness and the most common disease is asthma (39.2%). When the diseases were evaluated over the total number of students, it was determined that 2.5% of the students had at least one diagnosis. It was seen that the most common problem related to the disease in schools was the decrease in the student’s academic success (59.4%), and the emergency was difficulty in breathing and obstruction (26.7%). It was observed that asthma (p<.05) and diabetes (p<.01) were more common in secondary education compared to primary education. Conclusion: Chronic illnesses are seen with significant frequency in school children. It is recommended to carry out analytical studies specific to the diagnosis of each disease in the school environment, and experimental studies for the problems experienced.