STATED AND UNSTATED REASONS FOR VISITING A HIGH-SCHOOL NURSES OFFICE

Purpose: To determine the presenting complaints of students visiting a high school nurse's office and seek associations between specific pre senting complaints and psychosocial problems. Methods: One hundred eig hty-six students visiting the school nurse in a suburban high school w ere surveyed with a questionnaire developed by the investigators. Cate gorical data were compared utilizing chi-square or Fisher's Exact Test . Associations were determined by the Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results: He adaches (25%), infections (17%), stomach aches (12%), and dizziness or tiredness (12%) were the most common presenting complaints. Students indicated that ''not sleeping well'' and ''stress'' were two factors t hat most frequently played a role in their visits. Most students wante d either to rest or await going home; few were interested in receiving medical care or talking to the nurse. Specific complaints of headache , dizziness or tiredness, and no specific symptom were associated (p < .05) with not sleeping well, family problems, stress, school problems and depression. Conclusions: Complaints of headache, dizziness or tir edness, and no specific symptoms may be used as markers for exploring possible psychosocial problems underlying a visit to the school nurse. If school nurses are to address psychosocial issues, they will need t o look beyond stated reasons to unstated reasons for visits. Ways to a chieve this expanded level of tare are discussed.