Effectiveness of health office clerks in facilitating health care for elementary school children.

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Abstract
Twenty-two schools were selected, 11 experimental and 11 control. Experimental schools were matched with control schools in terms of pupil enrollment, social rank, and nurse-time assigned. Eight health office clerks were assigned full or part time, depending on enrollment in the experimental school, while the control schools had no clerical time assigned. An inservice program for the health office clerks was undertaken before school opened, in order to orient them in health office practices. Children in the control schools were more likely to receive care than were children in experimental schools. Personnel in control schools were more likely to use the optimal referral pattern (2 notices with 2 different technics) than in the experimental schools. Optimal referral patterns identified in a former study were observed to result in a higher number of defects corrected. These patterns again were validated as being significant contributors to success in correction of defects. Nurses with health office clerks did not spend more time in telephone contacts with parents than did nurses without health office clerks, and time spent in nurse visitations was not significantly greater. The time lag between initial referrals and receipt of care in the experimental schools was not less than in control schools.
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