School-based health centers in primary and middle schools of China

Objective To provide overall understanding of school-based health centers development in China. Methods By using the method of networking questionnaire (quantitative) and on-the-spot interview (qualitative), 538 staffs from school health centers in east, middle and west of China (a total of 18 counties) were investigated. Results School-based health centers provide a variety of health care services including emergency events (89.4%) and health records management (89.4%), as well as infectious diseases prevention and control (85.5%) in general. Health education (71.3% and 58.4% for east and western China), emergent events management (61.8% and 40.8% for east and western China), and health records management (61.2% and 53.6% for east and western China) were the most common services provided in schools of eastern and western areas. The implantation rate of each service differed in region(P<0.05), with eastern area significantly higher than the central and western areas. Staffs in school health centers worked approximately 5.1 days per week, with 8.7 hours per day. No significant differences in working hours by areas were found (P>0.05). Conclusion There are critical need for effectively improve staff setting and staff training in school-based health centers. Supporting school health programs to improve the health status of our nation's young people has never been more important.