Journal of School Nursing最新文献

The role of a school nurse has evolved due, in part, to complex health conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. In turn, nurse burnout and early retirement are contributing to school nurse shortages across the United States. Interprofessional support, training, and mentorship are needed to support school nurses new to the field. Thirty early-career Pennsylvania school nurses (15 mentors, 15 mentees) participated in a one-year mentorship and professional development program that included one-to-one mentorship and a five-part professional learning seminar series. Mentored pairs created mentorship action plans guided by the 21st Century School Nursing Practice^TM Framework. Participants completed mentored meetings with high fidelity (93% completion). Mentees and mentors reported high levels of satisfaction with their experience. Mentees' confidence in performing action plan items improved after participating in the program. This study suggests mentorship among school nurses is a valuable strategy to increase confidence in practice and develop professional relationships.

Despite rising prevalence of high blood pressure among youth, literature on school nurses' practices related to youth blood pressure is limited. We aimed to describe school nurses' current practices related to blood pressure screening and identification and monitoring of high blood pressures. We conducted a web-based national survey of currently practicing school nurses and received 195 responses across 37 states. All participants reported having a blood pressure cuff, nearly all (98%) reported confidence measuring children's blood pressure, and 82% reported interest in doing more to support children's cardiovascular health. Blood pressure measurement by school nurses was common (73% reported "sometimes" or "often" and 25% reported "seldomly"). However, only 32% stated hypertension impacts their students and only 19% endorsed having enough time to complete all their necessary tasks. In describing school nurse's current practices related to youth blood pressure, we highlight opportunities for expanding this role and considerations for doing so.

Increasing youth behavioral health needs in the United States have underscored the essential role school nurses can play in mitigating them. In response, the District of Columbia Department of Health developed the Behavioral Health Referral Process (BHRP) as a standardized guide, integrating school nurses into multidisciplinary teams and improving students' access to behavioral health services. To assess the BHRP's strengths and opportunities while understanding factors that could impact its implementation, key informant interviews were conducted using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework with seven school nurses and school nurse managers working in DC schools. Participants anticipated challenges related to the BHRP, from managing competing priorities to overcoming stigmas. Still, nurses reported the BHRP will enable a more coordinated referral process that promotes student linkage to care. The findings can inform efforts to assess and optimize school behavioral health referral processes as part of larger, comprehensive care systems.

After completing treatment, hematologic malignancy survivors face a critical phase of reintegrating into society. This study explored how survivors and their parents gradually returned to daily life, using grounded theory and in-depth interviews with 13 survivors and 16 parents. Data were analyzed revealed that hematologic malignancy survivors and their parents needed time to gradually return to daily life after a life-altering disruption after completing treatment. This process includes three categories: (1) adjusting to achievable learning goals, (2) incrementally expanding social relationships, and (3) strengthening daily life skills. As they return to daily life, both hematologic malignancy survivors and their parents need to adjust their mindset and pace to gradually adapt to the challenges they encounter. In the future, school nurses and oncology nurses can collaborate to design appropriate return-to-school plans to assist these children in their adaptation.

The increasing rate of food allergies in children, combined with the role of food as an integral part of the school day has led to the emergence of anaphylaxis as a daily threat to students, regardless of prior allergy diagnosis. Stock epinephrine-non-patient specific epinephrine auto-injectors that may be used during emergencies-is a means for schools to prepare for anaphylactic events and protect children with allergies. The Maricopa County Department of Public Health initiated the School Surveillance and Medication Program (SSMP), a data capture program, to facilitate the process of stocking epinephrine in schools. Spearheaded by the implementation efforts of the Kyah Rayne Foundation, program enrollment increased 146% between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. The increased proportion of schools enrolled in the SSMP and the number of school personnel trained to administer epinephrine demonstrates the feasibility of school-centered stock epinephrine programs and validates strategies for increasing program uptake.

Evidence-based practices in concussion management (CM) have been codified into legislation. However, legislation is varied, and implementation is narrowly evaluated. School nurses hold a unique position to assess the implementation of health policies. The implementation of concussion management policies across Massachusetts high schools was evaluated by the school nurse. A cross-sectional survey was sent to school nurses (N = 304), and responses (n = 201; 68.1% response rate) were tallied whereby higher scores indicated more practices being implemented. One open-text question was included to encourage nurses to provide context regarding implementation in their school. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to assess current implementation and nursing perspectives. Findings indicate that the degree of implementation varies, and some nurses reported difficulty with mobilizing clinical uptake of concussion management practices in their schools. Further implementation research is needed, and school nurses are an important stakeholder to include when assessing the clinical uptake of concussion management policies in schools.

The circumstances and nature of concussions among youth who play tackle, flag, or touch football are not well understood. This study used data from Utah's Student Injury Reporting System (SIRS) to explore suspected concussions among K-12 students sustained during participation in football-related activities (tackle, flag, or touch football). Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses showed that 54.7% of suspected concussions due to football-related activity were among elementary and middle school and 41.3% were among high school students. Most suspected concussions resulted from being struck by or against something (81.9%) and occurred during school-sanctioned games and practices (37.9%), lunch, lunch recess, and recess (34.8%), or physical education class (22.7%). The type of school activity and context for suspected concussions varied by school level. School nurses and others in Utah may use study findings to customize concussion prevention efforts by school level and activity.