Regional Differences as Barriers to Body Mass Index Screening Described by Ohio School Nurses

Abstract

Regionally specific facilitating factors to BMI screening in schools provide opportunities for schools to accentuate the positive and to promote school health.

A Comprehensive Review of School‐Based Body Mass Index Screening Programs and Their Implications for School Health: Do the Controversies Accurately Reflect the Research?

“…Studies indicate that confidentiality is a primary concern of screening programs, shared by parents, school nurses, and school administrators . Even though legal protection of HIPAA and FERPA remain unclear for BMI screening programs, schools and parents have great concern for privacy and confidentiality during the measurement process and when communicating results.…”

“…Although school nurses and PE teachers can provide private and reliable BMI assessments, critics assert that privacy during the measurement process is a challenge in schools without a confidential measuring area. In such cases, measurements likely occur in a corridor, the corner of a gymnasium or classroom, or with students coming to the nurses' office in small groups . According to opponents, violation of privacy during measurement may cause children to feel uncomfortable or lead to increased teasing or bullying …”

Influence of Perceptions on School Nurse Practices to Prevent Childhood Obesity

“…Less frequently reported barriers included a lack of policies or guidelines (Hendershot et al, 2008;Stalter et al, 2010Stalter et al, , 2011 and potential violation of student/family privacy (Hendershot et al, 2008;Stalter et al, 2010). School nurse perceived barriers were inversely associated with performing COP practices.…”

Childhood obesity prevention: a review of school nurse perceptions and practices

“…Workloads/time constraints. Most school nurses perceived heavy workloads and lack of time as substantial barriers to implementing COP practices, particularly BMI screenings (Hendershot et al, 2008;Kubik et al, 2007;Morrison-Sandberg, Kubik, & Johnson, 2011;Stalter et al, 2010;Stalter, Chaudry, & Polivka, 2011;Steele et al, 2011). A heavy workload affects time available for school nurses to engage in COP.…”

“…For example, a majority of school nurses in a national survey perceived inadequate school resources as a barrier to measuring BMI (Hendershot et al, 2008). A lack of space and functioning equip-ment such as calibrated scales, stadiometers, and privacy screens were identified as barriers by school nurses (Stalter et al, 2010(Stalter et al, , 2011. School nurses also remarked on the lack of community resources and healthcare providers for referrals and follow-up care as an obstacle to COP in studies with national and regional samples (Hendershot et al, 2008;Morrison-Sandberg et al, 2011;Steele et al, 2011).…”