View report page

55
APPENDIX H
THE USE OF HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRES AT SCHOOL
MEDICAL INSPECTIONS
An experiment in selection by
J. STUART HORNER, M.B.,Ch.B..D.P.H.. D.I.H.
Deputy Principal School Medical Officer
In April 1964, the Education Committee agreed that detailed
health questionnaires could be circulated to parents of children
receiving eight year old and eleven year old medical inspections.
The experiment was to continue for a period of six months and
was designed to answer three questions:-
1. What administrative difficulties are involved?
2. Will parents complete and return forms giving this type
of information?
g. Can the information produced be used to select a group of
children for examination?
l. Practical Difficulties. 853 parents of children in the
younger age group and 576 parents of older children took part in
the survey. The number of girls and boys was roughly the same
although rather more girls than boys took part in the 8 year old
inspection whilst at the later inspection the reverse was the
case. No attempt was made to select any particular school and
almost all parts of the Borough were represented.
One parent formally objected to the questionnaire: He
claimed that the information required was too confidential
although the accompanying letter had made it clear that parents
were quite free to complete only part of the form, if they so
wished. A number of forms were returned incomplete and one
parent complained to the doctor about the questions although she
had, in fact, completed them all. Against this extremely small
number, one should compare the overwhelming majority who completed
the questionnaire in great detail. Moreover a large
number of parents provided a considerable amount of additional
(and highly personal) information on the reverse side of the
form. In some cases this was relevant to the child* s present
health but in many cases it seemed to have been given entirely
for the assistance of the examining medical officer.