بحث عن عدم الاستفادة الكاملة لممرضات المدارس في شمال لندن School nurses: an underutilized resource.

A survey carried out on 347 pupils aged between 13 and 18 years in three state secondary schools in North London showed that teenagers did not view school and practice nurses as being an important source of support or advice on psychosocial or medical issues. Friends were the main source of support for teenagers feeling in need of psychosocial help, although parents were also an important source of advice. More than half of the respondents in this study group sought professional help from GPs or the Brook Advisory Clinic regarding information/advice on sexually transmitted diseases or when seeking abortion. The health concerns of these teenagers were dominated by skin and weight problems with anxiety/nerves ranking third, physical problems fourth and sex-related concerns ranking fifth. The findings indicate that practice and school nurses appear to be an under-utilized resource in the provision of information and support for teenagers.