Journal of School Nursing最新文献

Parents are key to promoting children's healthy growth and development. However, school nurses need knowledge about how to best support parents' health-promoting activities. This study aimed to explore parents' thoughts regarding their normal-weight 6-year-old children's food and physical activity behaviors as expressed during health conversations with the school nurse. Qualitative content analysis of audio-recorded conversations (n = 30) showed that parents think of their children's behaviors in terms of: (a) children's personality in relation to food and physical activity; (b) recognizing children's food and physical activity behaviors; (c) parenting in relation to food and physical activity; (d) interaction with children in situations around food and physical activity; and (e) contextual circumstances to promote children's healthy food and physical activity behaviors. The study contributes with novel knowledge regarding clinical work in health promotion, with suggestions for how school nurses can engage parents in promoting and sustaining healthy food and physical activity behaviors.

Students in alternative high schools (AHSs) have higher levels of substance use and risky sexual behaviors than students in traditional high schools. In this mixed methods study, we examine school nurses' efforts in Texas AHSs to address substance use and sexual/reproductive health. The nurses addressed substance use and sexual reproductive health mostly at the individual level, after students initiated risky behaviors. Nurses' efforts were influenced by district, school, and community factors (e.g., understaffing, outdated programs that weren't evidence-based or tailored to AHS students' behaviors, and family involvement). Usually, nurses were not practicing to their full scope as outlined by the National Association of School Nurses Framework. Substance use was a common reason for AHS placement and could contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, and AHSs did not always have Narcan on campus to address drug overdoses. Our findings suggest implications for providing equitable health services to this underserved, understudied student population.

There are effective prevention strategies to combat increasing rates of youth e-cigarette use. This study assessed the outcomes of an e-cigarette prevention program with teachers and parents/guardians across a three-county rural area. Researchers assessed teachers' and parent/guardians' increased knowledge and confidence in implementing vape prevention after receiving evidence-based trainings. Pre- and post-surveys demonstrated that teachers had a statistically significant increase in knowledge gain across all eight vape-specific domains assessed as expected. The parent/guardian pre- and post-survey results also show that knowledge and confidence increased significantly across seven domains. Findings suggest that multicomponent e-cigarette education and prevention programs better prepare teachers and parents/guardians to intervene with youth e-cigarette use and initiation, including being more likely to talk to youth about the risks of tobacco and vaping. Recommendations for school nurses are discussed and include educating youth, families, and staff for positive impacts.

During the 2020-2021 school year, many schools adopted remote learning or a part-time in-person learning ("hybrid") approach to reduce the risk of in-school transmission of COVID-19. The purpose of this work is to describe case rates of COVID-19 in schools practicing different learning modalities on rates of COVID-19 to support risk-benefit decisions in the context of respiratory disease outbreaks. We conducted a person-time-at-risk analysis of rates of COVID-19, as well as testing and test positivity rates among Colorado students. Schools practicing remote learning had a lower adjusted rate of COVID-19 cases compared to either hybrid or in-person learning modalities. Students attending a school with remote learning had fewer reported tests, and test positivity was higher for remote learning. Our analysis found that both case rate and test positivity were similar in hybrid and in-person learning modalities, indicating that hybrid learning modalities may not reduce the risk of respiratory disease transmission.

This study aimed to understand the experiences of adolescents regarding the perceived impact of COVID-19 on their mental health in Catalonia (Spain). A qualitative exploratory methodology was used with a purposive sample of 30 high-school students regarding their experiences of the self-perceived impact of COVID-19 on their mental health. Data were thematically analyzed using Braun and Clarke method. Three main themes emerged from the data: (a) the challenge of living confined, (b) the footprint of COVID-19 on adolescents' mental health, and (c) school dynamics during the lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted adolescents' mental health, and adolescents perceived a lack of emotional support from educational centers. Therefore, incorporating emotional support in educational centers and offering emotional self-management tools to young students should be a priority. School nurses can play an essential role in recognizing and managing emotional needs and being the natural link between educational and primary care centers.

The scope of the school nursing practice tool (SSNPT) is needed to apply and explore the gap between what school nurses perceive as important and actual practices. This study adapted and validated the Korean version of SSNPT (K-SSNPT) among 360 Korean school nurses in January 2022. The reliable and valid K-SSNPT can inform school nurses' workforce policies by capturing the current scope of school nursing practice and setting priorities for improving school health in South Korea.

This study assessed the effectiveness of the TRACK Rx program. Track Rx is a program for healthcare professionals to counsel and prescribe outdoor physical activity (PA) to children. The program was implemented by a school nurse to increase children's time spent outdoors, increase a child's nature-based PA, and increase parents' intention for their child to spend time outdoors. Parents/guardians of children in 1^st-3^rd grade (intervention = 51; control = 27) completed a baseline and 3-month follow-up survey. Children's nature-based PA significantly increased on the weekend in the intervention group compared to the control group. There was no significant change in the other study variables. Parental trust in the school nurse was similar to parent trust in their child's primary health care provider. School nurses can implement TRACK Rx and other nature and nature-based PA prescription programs throughout the school (classroom, physical education, recess, and after-school programming).

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major disruptor to school systems across the United States since March 2020. As a result, school nurses have had to adapt to these uncertain times. Previous research has demonstrated the impact of school nurses on student health; however, less is known about their role in educating the broader school community about COVID-19 prevention. In Spring 2022, four focus groups were conducted with public health graduate students with school-aged children, to assess perceptions of COVID-19 and public health emergency preparedness communication. MAXQDA was used for thematic analysis. School nurses were viewed as a credible source of COVID-19 information, especially for those who do not have access to healthcare services. While the primary role of school nurses is to provide health services to students, they also have the capacity to provide the community with vital public health emergency preparedness information.