Assessment of the needs and quality of health care services in the secondary schools of Klaipeda region

Aim of the study: to evaluate the need and quality of health care services in the secondary schools of Klaipeda region. Methodology of the study: The object of the study is the need and quality of health care services in the secondary schools of Klaipeda region in the opinion of school children and teachers. Methods of the study: analysis of scientific literature and legal documents, inquiry using a questionnaire and statistic analysis of data. Program version SPSS 10.0 was used for the analysis of data obtained from the questionnaire. Results: 78.4% of school children and 84.5% of teachers stated that specialists of public health care are very much needed in schools. According to school children (49.8%), they receive little information about sexual education. 78% of school children would like to find out more about health-strengthening and healthy lifestyle. The most important tasks of health care in schools named by teachers were: propagation of healthy lifestyle (97.3%), prevention of consumption of psychoactive substances (96.7%), rendering of first aid (96.7%), control of prophylactic examinations and vaccination (96.2%), sexual education (95%). According to teachers (68.2%), school children show little interest in the issues of health-strengthening and healthy lifestyle. Teachers (82.2%) believe that a lot of attention is paid to the wellness activity in schools and health care specialists of the school society are provided with suitable working conditions (62.8%). According to teachers, health care specialists of the school society work with parents (88.8%) and teachers (66.5%) little. The majority of school children stated that they like taking part in wellness events. School children of the 6th forms enjoy taking part in wellness events more than school children of the 8th forms (p=0.01). School children of the 6th (79.3%) forms like the way of presenting information about healthy lifestyle more than school children of the 8th (54.1%) forms (p=0.00). Statistically significantly more sixth-formers (54.6%) in comparison to eighth-formers (39.5%) have always tried to follow instructions of the health care specialist of the school society. According to teachers, the main problem of wellness activity in schools is passivity of school children (98.8%) and parents (99.4%). Conclusions: The majority of respondents confirmed that health care services are necessary in schools and assessed quality of such services positively. School children take part in wellness activity passively; however, the majority of them would like to find out more about health-strengthening. School children of the 6th forms assess quality of health care services provided better than school children of the 8th forms. While providing health care services in the schools of Klaipeda region, little work is done with parents and teachers. Practical recommendations: To provide more information about the aims and tasks of modern PHC (public health care specialists) to school societies; to induce school children to visit school PHC specialists individually; to apply not only quantitative but also qualitative criteria of assessment of health care services in schools; to apply means corresponding to the needs of school children’s different ages; to pay more attention to work with parents and pedagogues; to provide suggestions concerning preparation and implementation of sexual education strategy in schools to coordinating institutions