Measuring school children's experiences of the school health services in Sweden: a pilot study

Abstract

This pilot study describes the initial testing of two age-matched questionnaires aiming to measure school children's experiences and satisfaction of services provided by the school health services (SHS) in Sweden. Experiences from the point of view of school children is important to improve services. The methodology followed several steps. First, an expert panel (n=8) selected items based on earlier questionnaires used in healthcare. Second, cognitive interviews with children (n=25) were performed to adjust items to be understood by school children. Finally, the questionnaires (n=144) were distributed and compared. After adjustments to items in both questionnaires the pilot study indicated overall high satisfaction, but there are differences between age groups, where younger children are more positive than older children. Involving children to evaluate and improve SHS is an important consideration. In future studies, such questionnaires need further development to increase the sensibility and reveal further insight.