Nursing in project Head Start: improving health

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Health Promotion Programs
• Early Childhood Education

Background:

• Preschool children in Head Start (HS) programs are susceptible to upper respiratory illnesses.
• Effective health promotion is crucial for managing childhood illnesses and injuries in early education settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess a nurse-directed health promotion program's impact on reducing upper respiratory illness symptoms and injury rates in HS preschoolers.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of targeted health education for HS staff.

Main Methods:

• A nurse conducted weekly health assessments for 47 children over 8 weeks (4 weeks pre-intervention, 4 weeks post-intervention).
• The health promotion program for staff covered illness symptoms, infection control, injury prevention, and first aid.
• The Child Health Assessment Inventory was used to evaluate children's health status.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in upper respiratory illness symptoms was observed post-intervention.
• Overall injury rates increased, but analysis revealed 88% of these injuries occurred in the home environment.
• The program demonstrated positive effects on illness symptom management within the HS setting.

Conclusions:

• The nurse-directed health promotion program effectively reduced upper respiratory illness symptoms in preschool children.
• The program's impact on injury rates requires further investigation, considering the high percentage of home-related injuries.
• Implementing targeted health education for HS staff can improve child health outcomes.