engleski

Organisation of health care for school children and youth

Health care for school children and youths in Croatia is disintegrated since 1998. General practitioner provides curative, and school medicine specialist specific health care and health education. Efficient implementation of that program, including preventive, specific and health education procedures, demands these organisational requirements: a) accessibility of school medicine teams to school children and students and other primary health care services, b) school medicine team consists of school medicine specialist, nurse and psychologist for 4 to 6 teams, c) number of patients 3000 – 3500 elementary and high school children per team and 5000 for students, d) head fee should be different for elementary school children, high school children and students, e) number of patient should be corrected depending of terrain characteristics – large number of schools with low number of children in wide areas, dislocated schools, children with special needs in institutions or dormitories, f) work space, equipment and norms have to be standardised, g) enable school doctors as a elected curative doctors with obligation to provide at least 2/3 of working hours as a school doctor for listed schools, and enable general practitioners with school medicine postgraduate study to provide preventive health care, h) presented model should be controlled and financed by public health system. Group practice model (with family doctors, school medicine specialists and paediatricians) in health centres enable integrated health care for school children. Group practice model enable school medicine specialists to provide preventive health programs in school settings and be “link” between school health service and group practice.

school health service; health care; health education

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