Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Health is of exceptional importance. School Health and Nutrition Supervisors (SH & NS) post is a sanctioned post at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) level in the health department. SH & NS are performing multiple duties at the BHU level efficiently, but their sole responsibility is the School Health Program. SH & NS have higher qualifications like MA, MSc, M. Phil, and Ph.D., and are posted at BHU level in BPS- 17. They are playing a key role in multidisciplinary aspects of the health department along with school activities under the School Health Program. At this time SH & NS proved themselves as pivotal in the health department. SH & NS have multiple roles that are listed below:
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| Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors |
1: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in School Health Program:
The primary priority and responsibility of the School Health and Nutrition Supervisors (SH & NS) is the School Health Program. Apart from formal education within the school, mostly all indicators fall under the purview of the School Health Programme. The School Health Program provides the following services:
i. Students Screening: There are a total of 50 indicators for the school health program application for student screening. SH & NS have to check yes or no for each student one by one according to each indicator in the school health program application and then update all online. All this process is called student screening. If any student has an eye, ear, teeth, skin, mental health, or drug abuse problem or diseases, SH & NS refers the student to the relevant health facility.
ii: Parent Counseling: For any student who is found sick or suffering from any health problem while screening in school, the SH & NS conducts parent counseling, and informs them about their child's health problems and treatment facility at the concerned health facility.
iii: Follow Up. After referring the student in case of illness, the school health supervisor also follows up with the student. SH & NS helps students in getting treatment on a priority basis at the concerned health facility. SH & NS keeps the records of all the children enrolled in the school.
iv: School Environment: SH & NS also takes information about the environment inside the school, cleanliness of the school, presence of toilets according to students ratio, availability of clean drinking water, rooms, chairs, desks, etc., according to the students and does enter it in the School Health Program application.
v: Health Education Lectures: On school visits, SH & NS delivers lectures to all the students including the teachers about various diseases according to prevailing climatic conditions. SH & NS provides complete information to all participants like causes, mode of spread, symptoms, preventive measures, and treatment of diseases at BHU.
2: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in EPI
- SH & NS supervises all EPI activities and endeavors to keep the EPI up-to-date.
- At the UC level, the EPI team consists of vaccinators, LHS, Lady Health workers, sanitary inspector, and CDC supervisor. SH & NS ensures the presence of all the field staff in the field.
- SH & NS Keeps the field staff active in the field and works hard to achieve 100 percent efficiency.
- SH & NS also take household clusters to get information about the vaccination Status of children under the EPI program and identify those children who are not vaccinated.
- SH & NS Provides information about vaccination to parents who have missed vaccinations of their child.
- SH & NS educate the parents about the importance of vaccination to any child refusing vaccination. SH & NS convince parents that children need to be vaccinated.
- SH & NS supervise updating children's data on the vaccination application and registers daily. SH & NS Also ensure updated information of each child of two years with the vaccinator and Lady Health workers.
Due to the role of SH & NS in EPI, EPI-related indicators have improved significantly.
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3: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in The Community
- SH & NS also conducts community health sessions at various places in the community.
- SH & NS provides information to the community about health problems and diseases.
- SH & NS Provides information to people about campaigns organized against diseases like Polio, Dengue, Corona, and Measles and highlights the importance of these campaigns.
4: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Dengue Control
The next important task of SH & NS is anti-dengue activities, the most important of which is to visit dengue hotspots daily and remove mosquito breeding places. SH & NS visit all hotspots identified in the concerned UC every week. All these activities carried out by SH & NS are updated on the anti-dengue application daily. To perform all the anti-dengue activities, SH & NS use their conveyance, mobile, and internet.
5: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Health Council Account
The next role of SH & NS is in Health Council Account. The Department of Health, Government of Punjab, has established a Health Council Account at each BHU, the Chairperson of which is the Incharge Health Officer (IHO) of the Concerned Health Facility, and the SH & NS performs the duties of Secretary. SH & NS is also responsible for carrying out minor constructions, repairing, and other maintenance works of BHU, and then completing and maintaining records of Health Council, recording proceedings. SH & NS are performing well in this regard too.
6: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Polio Day Campaigns (SIAs)
SH & NS perform their duty as UCMO in the SIA campaigns. As UCMO, to receive training on Polio Day Campaigns, train all his teams of relevant UCs. UCMO (SH & NS) is responsible for receiving Polio Campaign-related logistics and conveying them to all teams, distributing daily in the morning and receiving them back in the evening, keeping a complete record of the polio campaigns, and making the campaigns 100% successful in their respective UCs. SH & NS duty-bound polio campaigns have resulted in tremendous success.
7: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Measles Prevention
SH & NS perform their duty as UCMO in measles campaigns like the Polio campaigns. Like the polio campaigns, all the activities are performed by SH & NS.
8: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Corona
In the last few years, Corona epidemic has created a state of extreme emergency in the whole country. In these situations, SH & NS has served as a focal person, and data entry operator, and played a vital role in completing the vaccination.
9: Role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors in Other Health Programs
Every program of the Department of Health in which SH & NS has been involved reached its highest standards like IRMNCH and Nutrition program, Health Facilities knockdown criteria, etc. Any program or activity in which SH & NS is involved by the Department of Health brings remarkable improvements in every indicator.
Conclusion
School Health and Nutrition Supervisors (SH & NS) play a key role in health promotion. It would not be out of place if it is said that without School Health and Nutrition Supervisors, the performance of various health-related programs can be affected. School Health and Nutrition Supervisor's roles are ideal in each program like School Health Programme, EPI, Anti-Dengue Activities, Health Council Account, Polio Campaigns, Community Health, Measles Prevention Campaign, Corona, IRMNCH, and Nutrition Programme. The role of School Health and Nutrition Supervisors is vital regarding the health of society and school students.
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