Keywords: screening, prevention, intervention

Aim:

To present a sustainable methodology for organizing and implementing school health screenings conducted by highly trained nurses in the school environment. Children health screenings are legally regulated in most countries. Their current model is often limited by logistics, resources, poor parental response. Many health issues in children remain undetected.

Method:

A series of steps has been defined for the implementation of the proposed methodology for school screenings, including organization, execution, evaluation. The methodology was designed to be flexible, sustainable, adaptable to school environments: forming health teams, establishing cooperation with schools, preparing logistics, collecting and statistically processing data, obtaining feedback from parents and schools, reporting to relevant ministries.

Results:

In 2024, screenings for schoolchildren were conducted in all 258 schools in Zenica-Doboj Canton (B&H) for all children in the second, sixth, and eighth grades of elementary school, and first-grade students of secondary school. Deviations from the normal state were identified in the eye screening for second-grade students with 248 (9%) children, in the eighth grade with 159 (7%) children, hearing screening in the second grade with 80 (3%) children, and in the eighth grade with 38 (2%) children, locomotor system screenings in the second grade with 1,173 (40%), in the sixth grade with 1,032 (35%), and first-grade secondary school students with 919 (34%) children. Deviations in BMI for age were observed in 1,155 (39%) second-grade children, 1,260 (42.6%) sixth-grade, 331 (11.7%) eighth-grade, and 800 (29.6%) first-grade secondary school students.

Conclusions:

The preventive school screenings implementation in the school environment by public health teams has shown significant potential. The comprehensive coverage and early problems detection confirm methodology effectiveness. In addition to increased accessibility and economic efficiency, the added value lies in the parents and children education, in strengthening the cooperation between the educational and healthcare sectors