International school children's health needs: school nurses' views in Europe.
Rapid globalization and the integration of national economies have contributed to the sharp rise in enrollment in international schools. How does this global nomadism affect international school children and their individual health needs? This study attempts to find an answer by interviewing 10 school nurses, with varying degrees of experience in international schools in Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland. Through qualitative semistructured interviews, the school nurses described that the international school children expressed common health needs similar to the ones faced by children in other school settings. However, children in the international schools expressed additional context-specific health needs related to their transient lifestyle, such as language and cultural difficulties, emotional distress, vulnerability, homesickness, alienation, and increased physical health needs related to their expatriate lifestyle. These factors often present a challenge for the school nurse whose profession is to interpret the child's health needs, which may be obscured by cultural diversity.
Zurich International School, Baden, Switzerland. anhansson@hotmail.com
Annika
A
Hansson
Eva
E
Clausson
Ann-Christin
AC
Janlöv
D000293:Adolescent; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005060:Europe; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011153:Population; D012573:School Nursing