Educational Needs and Perceptions of School Nurses Regarding Emergency Situations in School: Focus on Differences Based on the General Characteristics of School Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: The study investigated the educational needs and perceptions of school nurses regarding emergency situations in the school and compared differences in the educational needs and perceptions about emergency situations according to the general characteristics of school nurses. Methods: Using a written survey of randomly selected sample, we questioned 100 school nurses over a 3-month period from January 2011 to March 2011. The survey involved 11 medical conditions and 16 injury-related conditions. It contained questions about the need for education and perceptions of emergency situations. We also determined school nurses’ general characteristics including sex, age, grades of school where they worked, years of teaching career, years of clinical experience, number of classes, marital status, number of children, gender of their children, age of their children, the existence of older families. Results: Two hundred two (84%) school nurses responded. For most conditions, there were significant differences between the scores of educational needs regarding, and perceptions about, emergency situations, except for three conditions (fracture of extremity, cerebral contusion, and tooth trauma). According to the general characteristics of school nurses, only the grade of school where they worked influenced the educational needs for cerebral contusion and orbital contusion. Conclusion: The emergency conditions that need first aid education in Korean school nurses are different from the conditions identified in other foreign countries. Primary education and promotion of first aid is considered necessary. The perceptions about emergency situations and the educational need regarding emergency situations show consistency. Only the grade of school where nurses worked affected the educational needs of school nurses. Further studies about the frequency of emergency situations in each school grade are required.