Teacher Perception of the School Nurses in Addressing Obesity Among School Children in Kuwait

M Alrashidi ,Ali Hassan Alhaiti ,Lina Shahwan-Akl ,Majid M Aldaihani

doi:10.7176/jhmn/85-10

Abstract

Obesity in children is a global issue and it seems that no country has yet succeeded in addressing this issue. Therefore, investigating the current situation in regard to found new strategies in addressing the overweight and obesity in children by using qualitative research approaches was an important decision made at the beginning of the data collection. This study was conducted to examine the perceptions of school teachers towards the role of the school nurse in tackling obesity among children in Kuwait. Method : Twelve focus group discussions were used to collect the data to obtain in-depth details about the role of school nursing in addressing obesity among school children in sex provinces in Kuwait, The qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. NVivo 10® qualitative analysis software was used during the process of coding and the development of themes. Result: The focus group findings revealed the following key theme and perceptions among participants: The possible important role of the school nurse is minimised due to limitations of availability (not in every school) and their current roles. focus groups reported that nurses were limited to providing first aid to students, whereas nurses are able to serve in a more proactive, preventative capacity, although not asked to do so. Conclusion: school nurses were under-recognised and not appropriately utilised, as most participants in the second phase did not consider the school nurse as a part of the solution and believed that nurses were employed for emergency needs only. This is not in line with several studies that found that the activities of school nurses, such as delivering health education and taking body weight measurements, is associated with school children having a healthy body weight. Also, school nurses play a major role in advocating for the creation of a healthy environment for school children. Therefore, the current study calls for school nurses to be a part of the solution. Keywords: Obesity, overweight, Kuwait, school children,school nurse, perception. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/85-10 Publication date: January 31 st 2021

Highlights

Worldwide, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults has increased substantially from 857 million to 2.1 billion between 1980 and 2013 (Ng et al, 2014)
In six of the 12 focus groups, the participants discussed having a school nurse present, but felt that the nurses’ role was limited to first aid, rather than being used to support improved student health related to obesity
In three of the focus groups, participants discussed the perception that school nurses can play an integral part in the prevention, tracking and treatment of obesity and overweight, but this increased role would depend on the nurses’ qualifications and the responsibilities given to them

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults has increased substantially from 857 million to 2.1 billion between 1980 and 2013 (Ng et al, 2014). The findings of sequential studies indicate that overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is becoming more common in Kuwait (El-Bayoumy et al, 2009; Musaiger et al, 2012; Ng et al, 2011; Zaghloul, 2013). School setting is one of the most targeted places in which to combat obesity in school-aged children (Clarke et al 2013; Elizondo‐ Montemayor et al, 2013; Lee, Ho, Keung, & Kwong, 2014), The findings of a systematic review conducted by Verstraeten et al (2012) indicate that almost 80 of the school-based interventions in six European countries (Germany, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands) reviewed had a positive effect on physical activity and dietary behaviour. Verstraeten et al.’s review documented a decrease in student’s body weight in eight of the 12 studies, due to the effective multicomponent interventions that targeted both diet and physical activity and engaged multiple stakeholders

Methods

Results

Conclusion