Sexual health promotion: the barriers school nurses face.

This paper reports on the findings of a study which aimed to determine the contribution of school nurses to promoting sexual health within schools and whether occupational and professional boundaries impinged on the school nurses' ability to undertake this aspect of their role. The research was carried out across three Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, a total of 30 school nurses (n=30) from across the three PCTs were included in the study. Analysis of the data indicated that barriers in the form of gate-keepers were present and they could impede the school nurse in fulfilling her role as a health educator. This gate-keeping existed across three 'tiers': the school governors, the school (as a collective organisation) and teachers. Nurses employed a variety of strategies to negotiate their way through these gatekeepers in order to access the classroom setting, key among them was their willingness to collaborate and co-operate, by 'slotting in' with the school, the curriculum and its timetable and 'fitting in' with the teachers, as their needs dictated.