Category:

School Support for Students Returning after a Mental Health Crisis

8/30/2017

Most of the research and discussion about school mental health has focused on prevention and early identification of students experiencing difficulties. An articles in Issue #8, 2017 of Psychology in the Schools reminds us about the important role that schools can play in supporting students when they return to school after a crisis. "This paper presents results of a study examining a school-based support program model designed to provide short-term academic, social, and emotional support to help students successfully reacclimatize to school after an extended absence. The paper describes demographic, academic, and clinical characteristics of 189 program participants across eight high schools. Improvements were observed in participants’ day-to-day functioning based on the results of pre/postassessments completed by program clinicians. Preliminary data showed positive trends in participants’ school attendance and high school graduation rates. Finally, the paper considers implications for school-based mental health practice and next steps in related research. Read more...
(This item is among the 5-10 highlights posted for ISHN members each week from the ISHN Member information service. Click on the web link to join this service and to support ISHN)

School Nurses as Key Data Sources for SH Program Monitoring

10/21/2016

ISHN had a wonderful opportunity to visit the school health program in Oman, where every school in the country is provided with a school nurse. These nurses make excellent use of a comprehensive student health record, which is kept in the local community health clinic, accessible by parents and is being gradually posted online. These records offer an excellent source for monitoring the status of school health programs as well as ensuring close attention to individual students. An article in Issue #5, 2016 of The Journal of School Nursing discusses the feasibility of collecting school and nurse data in a similar manner in the USA. "his study evaluated the feasibility of collecting school nurse data on selected child health and education outcomes. Outcome variables included school health office visits; health provider, parent, and staff communication; early dismissal; and medications administered. On an average day, the school nurses cared for 43.5 students, administered 14 medications, and averaged of 17 daily communications. Day 1 data collection times averaged 15 min or less. By Day 5, 6.6 min was needed to complete the survey. Data collection was feasible for 76% of those who elected to participate. Feasibility is enhanced by limiting the number of data points and the number of days for data collection using a data collection web interface. Read more >> (This item is among the 5-10 highlights posted for ISHN members each week from the ISHN Member information service. Click on the web link to join this service and to support ISHN)

Nurse-led Educational Activities Increase Nutrition Knowledge

11/2/2015

In our quest to influence behaviour through multiple interventions in the school setting and to overcome the systemic, complex barriers to maintaining such multi-component programs, we sometimes forget that simple activities can also help students. A small scale study from the United Arab Emirates, published in Issue #6, 2015 of the British Journal of School Nursing, reminds us of this fact, as the authors report on the impact of a large group educational activity for 150 students delivered by the school nurse. "A quasi-experimental control group, and post-test only design was used. A school-based healthy nutrition educational programme was implemented to improve the nutritional knowledge of adolescents, and to promote a healthy life style among them. The ‘Let's Eat Healthy’ programme was delivered to 150 students in the intervention group, who were compared to another 150 students in the control group where the programme was not delivered. Students that participated in the intervention group were significantly more knowledgeable about healthy nutrition compared to students that didn't participate (P<0.01). They also scored significantly higher in the dietary behaviours survey, which reflects the adoption of more healthy eating behaviours. Read more>> (An item from the ISHN Member information service)

Special Issue: Collaboration Between School Nurses & Mental Health

8/31/2015

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Several of the articles in Issue #7, 2015 of Psychology in the Schools examine the role that school nurses play with other school personnel. The introduction to the speacial issue notes the lack of cooperation between nurses and mental health personnel. "The impetus for this special issue was the lack of research focused on the collaboration of school personnel (i.e., school psychologists and special education teachers) and school nurses. It is surprising that highly recognized professions working within schools, and who often work with same children, rarely collaborate with the goal of enhancing student learning. Although it is common for school psychologists to request vision and hearing examinations or to consult with school nurses regarding medication, active involvement of school nurses during the evaluation and classification process appears limited. In addition, school nurses appear to have limited input during the development and implementation of interventions. The primary aim of this special issue is to demonstrate how school personnel and school nurses can collaborate when developing prevention programs, addressing chronic health needs, and addressing the health needs of children with special needs. Another unique aspect of this special issue is that several of the articles were co-authored by a school nurse or nurse and a school psychologist." The articles in the special issue deal with topics such as continuum of care, identification and evaluation of autistic students, bullying prevention and response, students with disabilities, diabetes and other chronic diseases, responding to crises and roles within comprehensive school mental health promotion programs. Read more>>

Effectiveness of Different National School Health Services Models

1/3/2014

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #6, 2013 of Health Organization & Management, prepared by staff at the WHO European office, identifies and compares five different models of school health services used in Europe. The authors note that "The purpose of this article is to produce a taxonomy of organizational models of school health services (SHS) in the WHO European Region, and to reflect upon the potential of each model to be effective, equitable, responsive and efficient. The authors used data from the WHO survey to identify organizational models. To produce a taxonomy of organizational models, three features of SHS organization were analyzed – the presence of health personnel specifically dedicated to school health services provision (school nurse and/or school doctor); the statutory involvement of other health professions in SHS provision; and the proximity of service provision to pupils (school-based or not school-based). There are five organizational models of school health services in the Member States of the WHO European Region: dedicated school-based, dedicated community-based, integrated with primary care, mixed school-based, and mixed community-based. Preliminary reflections show that school based models are more likely to produce better outcomes in terms of effectiveness, equity, responsiveness, and efficiency." Read more>>

School Health Centres Strengthen Student Assets

11/20/2013

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #4, 2013 of Journal of Adolescent Health examines the impact of school health centres in schools as a means to develop student assets and improved connections with the school. The researchers report that they examined "the relationship between student-reported, school-based health center utilization and two outcomes: (1) caring relationships with program staff; and (2) school assets (presence of caring adults, high behavioral expectations, and opportunities for meaningful participation) using a school district–wide student survey. These relationships were also explored across schools. Using student-reported data from a customized version of the California Healthy Kids Survey from the San Francisco Unified School District (n = 7,314 students in 15 schools), propensity scoring methods were used to adjust for potential bias in the observed relationship between student utilization of services and outcomes of interest. Estimates generally pointed to positive relationships between service utilization and outcome domains, particularly among students using services ≥10 times. Exploratory analyses indicate that these relationships differ across schools. Use of school-based health centers appears to positively relate to student-reported caring relationships with health center staff and school assets. Future research is needed to confirm the robustness of these observed relationships. Read more>>

Inter-Professional Skills Key for School Nurses

10/28/2013

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #5, 2013 of Journal of School Nursing advocates for four key skills or competencies that have been identified by several nursing associations in the US that focus on inter-professional collaboration. The Expert Panel identified and described four specific competency domains (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert panel, 2011): Values/Ethics, Roles/Responsibilities, Communication and Teams and Teamwork. For the full text of the article, go to this web page. To access the full report cited in the article, go to this web page.

School-Located Immunizations: Special Issue

9/11/2013

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Several articles in Issue #4, 2013 of the Journal of School Nursing provide insights into school-located immunization programs. The editorial notes that: " The development of immunizations is considered 1 of the 10 great accomplishments of public health in the first decade of the 21st century (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, 2011). School nurses are inextricably associated with the substantial declines in vaccine-preventable diseases, and five of the original research articles in this issue provide evidence of the actual and potential school nursing contributions." The articles examine immunization programs in different contexts, including minority communities, private schools and other contexts. Another examines how five school districts in the USA strengthened their programs in diverse ways. Read more>>

Just some of the roles of school nurses

7/8/2013

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Several articles in Issue #5, 2013 of British Journal of School Nursing provide a quick, yet through look at the many roles played by school nurses. The hands-on articles cover these topics: motivational interviews with obese children, counseling students on sexual health issues, managing a measles, managing students with Type 2 diabetes, responding to asthma attacks, help students with serious skin problems, responding to forced marriages of older students, helping teachers with their lessons and more. Read more>>