The Journal of School Nursing2024, Vol. 40(2) 123–124© The Author(s) 2024Article reuse guidelines:sagepub.com/journals-permissionsDOI: 10.1177/10598405241227884journals.sagepub.com/home/jsn
As student academic achievement is strongly associated with health (Dudovitz et al., 2016), the National Association of School Nurses emphasizes prioritizing health within educational settings. Research demonstrates that school health services are pivotal in decreasing health risk behaviors among students, subsequently impacting their academic efforts (Hawkins et al., 2022).
Many schools in the United States provide health services to support student well-being. Key personnel within these health programs are school nurses, who perform physical assessments, conduct screenings, and treat acute illnesses. Collaborating with parents, caregivers, teachers, community and school-based therapists, and external health practitioners, school nurses manage chronic conditions such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, and epilepsy and offer skilled nursing treatments such as nebulization and insulin administration. School nurses may also coordinate services, including reproductive and mental health programs and chronic health condition management classes.
To provide valuable insight into assessing students’ behaviors and school health policies and programs for use by school nurses and other school health personnel and stakeholders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) create surveys. They then collect data, analyze trends, and publish reports on these surveys. These surveys, such as the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) and School Health Profiles (Profiles), have certainly contributed to advancing school health services.
However, a notable disparity exists in representing school nurses’ roles within CDC surveys. For instance, the Profiles survey, a comprehensive data collection tool, relies on school principal or health education teacher feedback regarding school health policies and practices. Intriguingly, inquiries about school health services within these surveys are not directed to individuals with the most profound expertise. The most suitable respondents for these specific questions are licensed school health professionals, namely school nurses, who directly provide these services. Some nurse researchers employing the YRBSS and Profiles surveys acknowledge the inherent limitations in data attributed to the survey’s sources or phrasing of questions, asserting these constraints may contribute to a lack of understanding concerning the essential role of school nurses in implementation and influence over health and education outcomes (McCabe et al., 2022, 2024; Pontes et al., 2021). This hampers the formulation of policies, allocation of funding, and provision of resources toward enhancing school nursing services.
School health nursing constitutes a crucial yet frequently overlooked aspect of public health surveillance and research (Maughan et al., 2018; Nganga-Good et al., 2023). Including a school health nurse scientist and clinically focused nurse in creating and analyzing CDC school health surveys can offer a comprehensive perspective to the CDC school health survey team. This partnership should include active participation by nurses and other school health researchers in survey development, data analysis, and dissemination of results. Nurses wellversed in school health services can enrich current surveys and contribute significantly to broader policy changes, leading to more impactful health policies, interventions, and education programs for students and school personnel. Participating stakeholders must prioritize and invest in fostering robust partnerships to promote enhanced student health and academic outcomes.
As school health nurse scientists advocating for all school nurses, we are optimistic about the prospect of a strengthened collaboration to help shape healthier school environments. We are prepared, eager, and available to collaborate with the CDC. In addition to sharing our expertise and knowledge to support students’ educational and health goals, we aim to underscore the significance of partnerships between nurses and the CDC in advancing school health initiatives.
Ellen McCabe, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, FNASN1, Laura Grunin, MSN, RN2, and Beth Jameson, PhD, RN, CNL, FNASN31 Hunter College, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, The City University of New York, USA2 Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, USA3 College of Nursing, Seton Hall University, USA
Ellen McCabe https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2901-1670
Laura Grunin https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5854-1131
Beth Jameson https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0225-3741
Dudovitz, R. N., Nelson, B. B., Coker, T. R., Biely, C., Li, N., Wu, L. C., & Chung, P. J. (2016). Long-term health implications of school quality. Social Science & Medicine, 158, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.04.009
Hawkins, G. T., Lee, S. H., Michael, S. L., Merlo, C. L., Lee, S. M., King, B. A., Rasberry, C. N., & Underwood, J. M. (2022). Individual and collective positive health behaviors and academic achievement among U.S. high school students, youth risk behavior survey 2017. American Journal of Health Promotion, 36(4), 651–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171211064496
Maughan, E. D., Cowell, J. M., Engelke, M., McCarthy, A. M., Bergren, M. D., Murphy, M. K., Barry, C., Krause-Parello, C. A., Luthy, B., Kintner, E., & Vessey, J. (2018). The vital role of school nurses in ensuring the health of our nation’s youth. Nursing Outlook, 66(1), 94–96. https://doi.org/https://dx.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.11.002
McCabe, E. M., Jameson, B. E., Grunin, L., & Yu, G. (2024). Chronic health condition management and school-based health centers in New York: Findings from the 2020 School Health Profiles Survey. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 25(1), 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544231220360
McCabe, E. M., Jameson, B. E., & Strauss, S. M. (2022). School nurses matter: Relationship between school nurse employment policies and chronic health condition policies in U.S. school districts. The Journal of School Nursing, 38(5), 467–477. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840520973413
Nganga-Good, C., Chayhitz, M., & McLaine, P. (2023). Overcoming barriers and improving public health nursing practice. Public Health Nursing, 40(1), 114–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.13139
Pontes, N. M., Williams, W. M., & Pontes, M. C. (2021). Interactions between race/ethnicity and gender on physical activity among US high school students: Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011–2017. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 60, 100–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2021.02.013
