There are 12 students with confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu in grades 6 to 8 at the local middle school in the community. The community nurse advises the caregivers of the ill children to keep the children home for a minimum of 5 to 7 days

Question

Which should be the nurse's next step?
A) Recommend closing the school for 6 weeks
B) Implement education in the school setting regarding respiratory and hand hygiene
C) Require each child in the school to undergo a physical evaluation by the school nurse
D) Initiate a system of discipline in the school setting for improper hand washing

Answer 1

Ans: B
Feedback:
Association means that events of illness or disability have a strong tendency to occur together rather than just by chance. The school setting is a common site where illness occurs by association. Education can prevent or limit the transmission of this disease. Because the children with known cases of H1N1 are being kept at home now and will not be contagious on return, there is no need to close the school. A mandatory physical evaluation of each child in the school would be both impractical and unnecessary, as most children will not have the virus and those who do may not yet be symptomatic. Although children should be educated on methods of proper hand washing, simply punishing those who fail to perform proper hand hygiene would be neither appropriate nor effective.