The Preparedness of Schools to Respond to Emergencies in Children: A National Survey of School Nurses

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objectives. Because children spend a significant proportion of their day in school, pediatric emergencies such as the exacerbation of medical conditions, behavioral crises, and accidental/intentional injuries are likely to occur. Recently, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association have published guidelines stressing the need for school leaders to establish emergency-response plans to deal with life-threatening medical emergencies in children. The goals include developing an efficient and effective campus-wide communication system for each school with local emergency medical services (EMS); establishing and practicing a medical emergency-response plan (MERP) involving school nurses, physicians, athletic trainers, and the EMS system; identifying students at risk for life-threatening emergencies and ensuring the presence of individual emergency care plans; training staff and students in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); equipping the school for potential lifethreatening emergencies; and implementing lay rescuer automated external defibrillator (AED) programs. The objective of this study was to use published guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association to examine the preparedness of schools to respond to pediatric emergencies, including those involving children with special care needs, and potential mass disasters. When stratified by inner-city and rural/suburban school setting, the availability of emergency equipment did not differ significantly except for the availability of an oxygen source, which was higher in rural/suburban schools (15% vs 5%).School-nurse responders self-reported more confidence in managing respiratory distress, airway obstruction, profuse bleeding/extremity fracture, anaphylaxis, and shock in a diabetic child and comparatively less confidence in managing cardiac arrest, overdose, seizure, heat illness, and head injury.When analyzing schools with at least 1 child with special care needs, 90% (95% CI: 86 -93%) have an MERP, 64% (95% CI: 58 -69%) have a nurse available during all school hours, and 32% (95% CI: 27-38%) have an efficient and effective campus-wide communication system

Among Children with Food Allergy, Do Sociodemographic Factors and Healthcare Use Differ by Severity?

“…It is estimated that 20 %of food allergy anaphylactic reactions and approximately one-quarter of first-time reactions to food among allergic children occur at school [13,14]. However, in this analysis only 20 %of children with moderate/severe food allergy reported using an IEP, and many school districts report low compliance rates with the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology recommendations of having an emergency management plan (EMP) in place for food allergic students [13,15]. Although we found no differences in the relationship between IEP use and food allergy severity by demographic groups, future research to investigate characteristics that may account for variation in IEP or EMP use between school districts may be useful.…”

Exercise Training in Students With Diabetes: The Role Pe Teacher at School

“…Iako nastavnici nisu ljekari (Tahirovic i Toromanovic, 2007), neophodno je da budu dobro informisani iz osnova upravljanja dijabetesom u vanrednim situacijama (Abdel Gawwad, 2008;Alnasir & Skerman, 2004;Gagliardi, Neighbors, Spears, Byrd, & Snarr, 1994;Hellems & Clarke, 2007;Olympia, Wan, & Avner, 2005;Parent, Wodrich, & Hasan, 2009;Tahirovic & Toromanovic, 2006). Tako bi bili u mogućnosti da podrže učenike u svakodnevnoj medicinskoj praksi (tj.…”

Health emergency preparedness: an assessment of primary schools in Abakaliki, South-Eastern Nigeria

“…Because children spend a significant proportion of their day in school, pediatric emergencies such as exacerbation of medical conditions, accidental and intentional injuries are likely to occur. 5 Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in the United State, especially among children with 70% of injury or deaths occurring in the school aged youth (5-19 year of age). 6 An estimate of 10 -25% of injuries occur while the children are at school.…”