Knowledge about diseases requiring temporary school absence from kindergartens and nurseries in the area of the Lumiar Health Centre

Abstract

Objectives: Describe the childhood educators and teaching assistants knowledge about infection prevention measures. Identify symptoms or diseases that, according to these professionals, merit temporary school exclusion. Design: Non-experimental, exploratory, descriptive, transversal. Setting: Child day care centers at the Lumiar Health Centers (Lisbon, Portugal) area of influence. Population: Childhood educators and teaching assistants. Methods:A self-administered questionnaire was applied to childhood educators and teaching assistants working at Lumiar Health Centers area of influence in the period from 01/05/2009 to 31/06/2009. Results: Of the 31 invited institutions, 24 agreed to participate (267 professionals). 223 questionnaires (83, 5%) were correctly completed, the average age of the study population was 37.4 years, 50.2% reported having received training in communicable childhood diseases. The most pointed cause for communicable diseases was under ventilated child day care centers (72.2%). Hand washing was reported by 94.2% staff members as a preventive measure against infection. Fever that does not resolve with antipyretics was considered by 91.9%, a factor of exclusion. Shortness of breath is not considered a reason for exclusion by 21.5% of the inquired persons. Bloody diarrhea was the most gastrointestinal symptom cited, in 88.8%. Scarlet fever and measles were reported by 97.8% of staff members as a reason for exclusion. The most exclusion obligatory disease mentioned was meningitis (93.3%). Conclusions: The symptoms more valued by the education professionals do not always coincide with those that the health professionals value the most, a factor which could conduce to unjustified school exclusion It may be useful to develop management guidelines for common symptoms at an institutional level.