Teacher Response to Sick Kids
Tuesday,January20,2004,10:15 PM
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows school teachers generally have a positive outlook when it comes to their students with chronic illnesses. However, more could be done to help teachers understand the medical conditions of these children.
Medical advances have made it possible for more children to survive with chronic diseases like AIDS, leukemia, and diabetes. With the trend towards mainstreaming, most of these kids now attend neighborhood schools, where teachers may or may not be prepared to deal with their medical issues.
Investigators wanted to determine how teachers perceive children with medical needs. They surveyed educators in 23 elementary schools, asking 13 questions aimed at determining their beliefs regarding children with six conditions -- AIDS, asthma, congenital heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, and leukemia.
Overall, the teachers demonstrated a positive perception of having these children in their classrooms. But many were still concerned about issues related to time or extra attention needed for the sick child and personal risk or liability. Specifically, 53 percent of the teachers said they were concerned about an emergency occurring while the child was in their class, and 27 percent worried about their legal liability.
Researchers note the concerns raised by the teachers are out of proportion with the actual risk of an emergency or legal liability and suggest health care professionals could play an important role in educating teachers to correctly assess these risks.
Researchers write, "Health care professionals need to clarify any misunderstanding about the risk of adverse events for each child and to provide clear and appropriate emergency plans for acute events for both school nurses and teachers."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2004;158:53-58
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