Overweight and obesity are common in school-age children. Policy, system, and environmental (PSE) approaches--which entail making upstream changes to a school's context--can be leveraged to reduce childhood obesity. Nurses can advance PSE approaches in schools to promote healthy living habits. This review examines the effect of nurse-involved PSE…

Given that the obesity rate among school-age children is increasing, school nurses can play a vital role in managing obesity and encouraging healthy living in school settings. Obese children from low-income backgrounds are more vulnerable than other students and require more careful attention and intervention. This qualitative study aimed to…

This study assessed associations between school nurse workload and student health and academic outcomes. We hypothesized that lower school nurse workload would be associated with better student outcomes, with associations being greater for members of groups who experience health disparities. Our methods entailed secondary analysis of data for New…

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between sleep duration, overweight/obesity, and school failure using data obtained from self-reported questionnaires completed by 13- to 15-year-olds in Sweden (n = 1,363; 50.7% female). The height and weight of the participants were measured by school nurses. A multiple logistic regression…

The number of children who are obese and overweight continues as a public health challenge despite decades of research. The purpose of this article is to describe trends in body mass index (BMI) percentile data collected from 11- to 14-year-old school children in 2008-2009 and 2015-2016 in rural Wisconsin. The BMI percentiles from 1,347 students…

Half of U.S. states measure students' body mass index (BMI), with many communicating that information to parents through a "BMI report card" or notification letter. School nurses are usually responsible for implementing these programs and communicating results to parents. The purpose of this study was to understand parents' perceptions…

School nurses are well positioned to assess, intervene, and evaluate efforts to positively impact students who are overweight or obese. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore the experiences of school nurses providing care to children living with overweight and obesity. Data were collected through face-to-face,…

An underexamined consequence of childhood obesity is caregivers' missed work attributed to child absence from school due to a health condition. This secondary analysis (N = 123) reported the frequency of missed work among caregivers of children with a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 75th percentile and examined associations with select…

This mixed-methods community-based participatory pilot study examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of group obesity management visits offered through school-based health centers. The study was implemented through an academic-community partnership in three school health centers serving primarily Latinx and African American youth.…

Although obesogenic behaviors (physical activity and/or sedentary behavior and dietary intake) are known predictors of childhood weight status, little is known about mother and child behaviors contributing to obesogenic behaviors and obesity in Hispanic preschool children, whose obesity rate is higher than in non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic…

School nurses are challenged with more children having complex conditions, who are now surviving into school age. This is paralleled by a shift in focus of health systems toward primary care, and national efforts to develop the health-care services, especially those offered to vulnerable populations. Being at the forefront of this change, school…

A recent evaluation of a school nurse-led obesity intervention demonstrated a 5% implementation rate. The purpose of this study was to explore school nurses' perceived barriers to and facilitators of the intervention in order to understand reasons for the low implementation rate. Methods included semi-structured individual interviews with school…

The landscape of childhood health and disease has changed over the past century, and school nurses are now in a unique position to address the conditions that lead to chronic disease, such as obesity. Measuring body mass index (BMI) during childhood and adolescence is the recommended method for screening and/or monitoring obesity in school…

Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables helps to reduce childhood obesity and improves academic achievement and attendance. However, providing fresh fruits and vegetables is challenging for some schools due to cost, administrative burden, and concern for food waste. To address these challenges, the Fruit and Vegetable Access for Children Act…

Social determinants of health (SDOH), the conditions in which children are born, grow, live, work or attend school, and age, impact child health and contribute to health disparities. School nurses must consider these factors as part of their clinical practice because they significantly and directly influence child well-being. We provide clinical…