Instruments
Data were collected through a physical examination which included a questionnaire and physical assessment form. The questionnaire was composed of two sections: The first section included questions related to sociodemographic features of children such as age, gender, economic status, chronic diseases, and regular drug use. The second section included questions related to eye health, nutritional habits, dental health, hypertension, ear/hearing health, and signs related to scoliosis. Each section was composed of open and close-ended questions. The physical assessment form was prepared to record the results of the health screening conducted among children.
An informed consent form, and questionnaire including questions about family health status were sent to the parents of participating children. Student information related to academic success and nonattendance were obtained from teachers. Information that could not be obtained from children and their parents was acquired from either school health nurses or recordings.
Children were invited to the health office for screening procedures one by one at a time determined by their teachers. Screening was performed by one of the researchers. Before the present study, the researcher had training and practice about screening during nursing education.
The health screening of each student took approximately 25 minutes. The screening items included height and weight, blood pressure, dental health, hearing, and scoliosis measurements.