Primary school children: access to toilets.
OBJECTIVE
Most children are continent of urine by the time they are in primary school. Balanced micturition and paradoxically dysfunctional voiding (DV) are acquired behaviour. Children need easy access to toilets at school, to comply with timed voiding which is part of the treatment for DV. This study investigated children's access to primary school toilets in Auckland.


METHODS
A questionnaire was sent to 97 primary schools listed on the New Zealand ministry of education (MoE) website for the Auckland region. Information regarding the school decile rating, population, rota, toilet facilities and toilet policy was requested. Six randomly selected schools were visited to verify the facilities available there.


RESULTS
Eighty-four percent of the schools in our sample complied with the prescribed statutory minimum for both boys and girls toilets. There was a median ratio of 11 children per facility. The median duration to use a facility during the first recess was 2 min.


CONCLUSIONS
In general, the toilet facilities and utilization ratios in primary schools in the Auckland region appear to provide a healthy environment for urination. Schools must be encouraged to draft and adhere to a toilet policy to ensure a uniform toilet environment.
Upadhyay
Vipul
V
University of Auckland, Starship Children's Hospital, Grafton, Auckland 1001, New Zealand. vipulu@adhb.govt.nz
Mathai
John
J
Reed
Peter W
PW