Raising the visibility of school nursing services

In an attempt to raise the visibility and profile of the school nursing service in the London boroughs of Hounslow and Richmond, school nurses sought to hear from the voices of the young people with whom they work. Ten focus groups in secondary educational provisions were held in a bid to look at young people's accessibility to technological devices, where they would go if they had a health problem and which health topics they would like more information on. This paper examines both national and local data and demographics, and discusses findings from the focus groups run with local young people. The results collected from the focus groups emphasised that technology is a fundamental aspect of many young people's lives and that a large number of young people access the internet to source information about their personal health and wellbeing. The data suggests that the school nursing service could use technologies, such as an interactive app, to support the physical and emotional health of young people.