Health Studies—Presumably Normal High School Students

Abstract

Introduction The following studies were undertaken to evaluate three components of school health programs which consume a major portion of nurse and physician time spent in schools in the United States. These are: physical health appraisal, absence surveillance, and care given to pupils on visits to the school health room. The population observed was that of pupils attending a four-year high school in Dormont, a middle-class, all-white suburb of Pittsburgh. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the forementioned activities in meeting health needs of pupils, it was necessary to describe pupil health status and to identify certain factors influencing pupil health. Children were characterized as to findings on physical examination, certain screening tests for detection of disease, causes and frequency of absence and health room visits, level of academic achievement (including school dropout), physical fitness tests, answers to a health questionnaire, and patterns of extracurricular activities (including hours of