Student Views of the School Nurse's Role in a Secondary School Condom Availability Program

Abstract

In Massachusetts, the school committee of a Boston suburb's school board agreed to start a condom availability program at the community's 2 high schools. A nurse researcher conducted 11 focus groups with 112 students to determine students' attitudes and feelings, so they can be incorporated in designing the program. Most students were White, college-bound, and professional-class. The nurse grouped most students by age, gender, and academic tracking into homogeneous groups. A common thread throughout the discussions was a need for respect from adults. Every focus group talked a lot about the risk of humiliation and loss of respect of adults if they took condoms. Students suggested that they would not use the program if it required individual counseling. Overall, the students were concerned about the school nurse's role in safer sex counseling. Sexually active females conveyed a positive relationship with the school nurse, however. The lack of consistent nursing staff contributed to students' doubts about building a relationship with the nurse. Students clearly identified an adult with whom they could feel comfortable talking about sexual matters as someone who would be relaxed, nonjudgmental, knowledgeable, and available for discussion. Based on these findings, the nurse researcher recommended that school nurses have more time to enhance skills in effective and sensitive sexuality counseling and devote more time to counseling and HIV prevention education. She also suggested that schools include more parent and student sexuality education. Developmentally appropriate HIV prevention education should be provided to all students in both junior and senior high schools each year. Final recommendations were intensive inservice education for school nurses, anonymous condom availability, and identification of other school and community personnel to support school nurses.