Aiming to understand the actual grass roots of school health activities in Korea, a fact-finding wurvey was carried out through mailing between 1978-1979 and the study results were summarized as follows: 76.4% of school nurses were less than 30 years old and 58.5% were single. 76.4% of nurses graduated from junior nursing colleges 74.5% and 64.8% were not well oriented in their new jobs. Therefore 59.2% of surveyed schools had small size clinics (less than 355 square feet). Physical examination for pupils were carried out by general practitioners mostly (70.0%). However, the follow-up was done by nurses satisfactorily. Supportive and positive attitudes toward school lunch were different between school principals (35.0%) and classroom teachers (84.5%) in the schools. Principals criticized school lunch program as not helpful for the growth and development of school children (71.0%) and as a waste of budget (18.2%). 52.4% of principals and 31.5% of teachers respecctively explained that school lunch should be provided for all pupils on the one hand and on the other hand 28.7% of principals and 34.3% of teachers gave an other opinion which was provision only for those pupils wanting a lunch. Advantages of school lunch : convenient to cat (42.2%), tasteful food (29.6%) were pointed out and the disadvantages : food is of poor quality (40.3%), not tasteful (32.6%) were also pointed out. In the comparative study between the school lunch demonstration school and the control school (non-school lunch demonstration school and the control school (non-school lunch), height and weight increase of school children and serum protein level were different : however, these facts were either not significant or of minimal significance. In short, the path towards obtaining effective and desirable health services in Korea, of which the school lunch program is only part, is long and arduous and it will require patience and effort to realize this goal.
Adolescent ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; Child ; Female ; Food Services ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; School Health Services/supply & distribution* ; School Nursing/manpower

Considering the importance of school health regular vaccintions of children primary schools is strongly recommended, as well as a comprehensive school health program, however, neither has been satisfactorily carried out in Seoul. Without exception, all schools in Korea are facing many problems ; shortage of school health personnel, lack of adequate facilities, poor school environmental sanitation, etc., but the health problems showed not to be disreSarded. Therefore, adequate and effective planning and implementation of the school health programs, including vaccination of school children, is urgently requested. With the aim of finding out the facts, 82 elementary schoolsin Seoul, Korea, were surveyed and the following results were obtained. 1) School health personnel were not satisfactorily distributed in all schools : school physicians in 60 schools (73.0%), school nurses in 79 schools (96.3%) and school pharmacists in only 8 school (9.8%). 2) Medical facilites in schools were poorly equipped, lack of refrigerators to keep vaccineetc. 3) Schools environmental sanitation such as water supply and waste disposal were relatively good. However, flush toilets were equipped in only 16 schools (19.5%). 4) Regular health teaching has not being carried out by medical personnel in any of the schools. Health education was carried out with printed nows letter to homes from schools and broadcasting set at schools. 5) Annual physical examination in every school was performed by medical doctor. But physical examination were performed by their own school doctors only in 16 schools (19.5%). 6) About 32 patients in a day were seen and treated in health clinic at schools and the chief complaints were found to be indigestion, headache, and trauma in 90%. 7) School vaccinations were performed by the nurse alone in 58 school (70.7%). In vaccination procedures, needle sterilization was inadequate in 78 schools (95.1%), and the reasons were found to be shortage of school health personnel including nurses, lack of adequte equipments and facilities, program beudget, and poor recognition of nurses.
Child ; Dyspepsia ; Headache ; Health Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Needles ; Pharmacists ; Physical Examination ; Sanitation ; School Health Services* ; Seoul* ; Sterilization ; Vaccination ; Water Supply