School needs of children with chronic ilnesses: A phenomenological study

The purpose of this study is to examine the educational needs of school-age children with chronic diseases from the perspectives of students and school counselors. The study group of the research, which was conducted with a qualitative research design, consisted of 27 students aged 8-14 years with 9 type 1 diabetes, 8 asthma, 8 allergy and 2 epilepsy diseases, 6 school counselors and 3 guidance teachers. The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with an interview form prepared by the researcher. In the findings of the students analyzed with the interpretative phenomenological analysis method, it was found that they needed supportive relationships and open communication in terms of disease management at school, they may experience absenteeism for various reasons, students demand that their special needs should not be ignored while they need to feel normal, the presence of students who experience bullying, and the feelings of guilt and gratitude they feel towards their families while their mothers mostly take care of them. Findings obtained from school counsellors/guidance teachers, it was found that they mostly accessed information about students with chronic diseases from parents, recommended support education opportunities to support academic success, needed cooperation in order to provide effective support to students, did not conduct routine interviews with these students and finally, the trainings they received should be improved on chronic diseases. Based on the results, recommendations were made to raise awareness of students with chronic diseases in schools and to increase cooperation.