Disabled young people have unmet needs for support and assistance from school and student health services
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23990/sa.72989Keywords:
school and student health services, youth, disabilitiesAbstract
International conventions on the rights of children and persons with disabilities oblige signatory countries to improve equality of access to services for young people with disabilities by removing obstacles and providing appropriate support. Thus, this study examined needs for, and accessibility of, support and assistance from school health nurses and physicians among young people with and without disabilities, particularly unmet needs for support and assistance in relation to sociodemographic factors. The study was based on data from the nationwide School Health Promotion Study 2017 (n = 138,972), which were analysed using cross-tabulation, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analysis. Approximately 14% of the young people reported having a serious disability, such as difficulties in seeing, hearing, walking, remembering, learning, or concentrating. However, 10% of those reporting a need for support and assistance from a school health nurse had not received it. Unmet needs for support and assistance were more common among youths with disabilities (19%) than among other youths (9%). Moreover, 16% of young people who needed support and assistance from a physician had not received it. Unmet needs for support and assistance were more than twice as common among young people with disabilities (28%) than among other young people (13%). Young people with disabilities had more than a twofold higher risk of unmet needs for support and assistance than other young people from both school health nurses and physicians, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors. In conclusion, young people with disabilities have greater wellbeing- and health-related support needs than others, some of which may be unidentified, and they may not receive the support and assistance they require. There are challenging differences in these respects between young people with and without disabilities. School and student health services can play key roles in reducing these differences in wellbeing, thereby promoting equality.
