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…

Appropriate management by schools of all students with a concussion, regardless of the cause, has not received the same attention as sports-related concussions. Focus groups conducted with Massachusetts School Nurses in 2015 found that some had applied protocols required in the state's sports concussion regulations to all students with concussion,…

All states have youth sports concussion laws that have helped shape school concussion policy. However, state laws do not specify how schools distribute policy. The present study examined parent, youth, and school personnel's knowledge of school concussion policy in Colorado and ease of access to policy via school website. Youth (n = 1,987),…

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are frequent in student athletes and are often caused by community-associated methicillin-resistant "Staphylococcus aureus" (CA-MRSA). We evaluated the awareness of CA-MRSA among high school coaches and athletic directors in Missouri (n = 4,408) and evaluated hygiene practices affecting SSTI…

Female high school athletes are an at-risk population for the Female Athlete Triad--a syndrome including low energy availability (with or without disordered eating), menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density. School nurses can play an important role in reducing the health burden of this syndrome, by educating coaches and athletes, and by…

The school environment is an ideal setting for healthy weight programming with adolescents. The federal government has reinforced the importance of school-based health promotion. The current study examined the preliminary influence of the 2006 school wellness policy requirement of the "Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act"…

School health policies and programs provide the framework for a safe and supportive environment for students with asthma. School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006 data were examined to assess whether schools nationwide have policies and programs consistent with the "How Asthma-Friendly Is Your School?" checklist from the National Asthma…

Although federal law requires all public schools to be smoke free, lack of compliance with the smoke-free policy is commonly reported. The aims of this study were to describe the indoor fine-particle (PM[subscript 2.5]) air pollution in a rural high school and surrounding public venues. This cross-sectional, nonexperimental study was conducted in…