Rural school nurses are on the front lines of providing health care for children and families in rural Colorado, but there is little research from their perspective. To fill this gap, a descriptive phenomenological study examined the experiences of nine rural school nurses through in-person audiotaped interviews. Analysis of data revealed three…

Implementing targeted (Tier 2) interventions for youth at risk of developing behavioral health concerns is critical for a comprehensive approach to school mental health. Given challenges in school-based implementation of targeted interventions, identifying factors associated with their implementation may contribute to a better understanding of…

All 50 US states have enacted mandates requiring insurers to cover autism-related services. We assessed whether and to what extent variation in generosity of state insurance mandates has been associated with rate of growth in the health workforce for children with autism spectrum disorder: including board-certified behavioral analysts, child…

The University of Colorado PROMISE Clinic is an integrated mental health program housed in the obstetrics/gynecology outpatient clinics. A team of medical and mental health professionals care for a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse patient population. They provide integrated mental health services from consultation through…

Type I diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common childhood diseases and Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing at alarming rates. Given that children spend a great percentage of their time in school, this setting is a critical environment for models of care that lead to better management of this and other health conditions. The School Nurses Managing…

Suicide is a major cause of death in American youth. Suicide risk assessment is a promising suicide prevention strategy; however, little is known about school-based suicide risk assessment practices. The purpose of this study was to examine the scope of standardization, comprehensiveness, and follow-up procedures as part of the suicide risk…

Asthma imposes tremendous burden on children, families, and society. Successful management requires coordinated care among children, families, health providers, and schools. Building Bridges for Asthma Care Program, a school-centered program to coordinate care for successful asthma management, was developed, implemented, and evaluated. The program…

Homophobic name-calling and sexual violence are prevalent among US high school students and have been associated with a host of negative consequences including anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders, especially among sexual and gender minority youth. Although homophobic name-calling and sexual violence are linked to common risk and…

School health teams commonly address the needs of students with asthma, which requires specific knowledge and skills. To develop a skilled school health team, a competency-based framework for managing asthma in schools was developed. A modified Delphi with 31 panelists was completed. Consensus (=80% agreement) was reached for all 148 items…

This study characterized psychotropic medication use among Medicaid-enrolled children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders by examining trends over time, including length of treatment and polypharmacy using 4 years of administrative claims data from 41 state Medicaid programs (2000-2003). The data set included nearly 3 million children…

Background: There has been little evaluation of school-located vaccination programs that offer human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in US schools without health centers (ie, extramural programs). This article summarizes lessons learned from such programs. Methods: In July to August 2010, 5 programs were identi?ed. Semistructured, in-depth telephone…

Students with diabetes deserve a school nurse who can effectively manage the disease. Tensions between the school and families sometimes emerge when a child with diabetes goes to school. To resolve these tensions in Colorado, stakeholders collaborated to implement a statewide program to meet the needs of students with diabetes. Colorado school…

Background: School-located vaccination (SLV) offers an opportunity to deliver vaccines to students, particularly those without a primary care provider. Methods: This SLV program offered 2 clinics at each of 20 elementary schools (influenza vaccine) and 3 clinics at each of 7 middle/preschool-eighth-grade schools (adolescent platform plus catch-up…

Research studies report a negative relationship between employment and secondary conditions. Access to health promotion programs to manage secondary conditions, however, is limited for people with disabilities due to employment, financial, and insurance barriers. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) is one possible delivery point to overcome these…

Teachers are widely considered key gatekeepers to mental health services for students at risk for suicide. Using data from 120 teachers at two Denver-area high schools, this study investigated teachers' experiences with suicidal students. Analyses revealed that the majority of teachers (58.8%) reported that at least one student had disclosed…