The purpose of "Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Schools" is to provide basic information and communication resources to help school administrators implement recommendations from CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials and School Administrators for School (K-12)…

Schools play a critical role in improving the dietary and physical activity behaviors of students. Schools can create an environment supportive of students' efforts to eat healthily and be active by implementing policies and practices that support healthy eating and regular physical activity and by providing opportunities for students to learn…

School-based health centers (SBHCs) and school nurses know that healthy students learn better. They share an important mission: providing preventive care for all students they serve, with the goal of keeping students in class learning. They both: (1) Educate students and families about healthy behaviors and nutrition; (2) Enroll students and…

Spina bifida (SB) is a neural tube defect that causes many physical and mental disabilities. Bowel and bladder incontinence is the disability seen most often in these students that requires the school nurse's attention. Clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) provides the student with SB a vehicle to reach a satisfactory level of continence,…

The School-Based Health Alliance Census for the 2010-2011 school year is the 12th request for data from school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986. SBHCs are health centers that provide comprehensive care to children and adolescents in a setting that is trusted, familiar, and immediately accessible: their school. SBHCs serve at the…

One of today's most pressing public health problems is the rise in childhood overweight and obesity. School-based health centers (SBHCs)--the convergence of public health, primary care, and mental health in schools--represent an important element in the public health toolbox for combating the challenging epidemic. When working side-by-side in a…

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are considered one of the most effective strategies for delivering preventive care, including reproductive and mental health care services, to adolescents--a population long considered difficult to reach. National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) recommends practices and policies to assure…

Medications are administered every day in schools across the country. Researchers and clinicians have studied school nurses' and educators' experiences with medication administration, but not the experiences of children or their parents. This study examined medication administration from the child and parent perspectives to (a) determine problems…

Arthritis is a condition often associated with the elderly. However, arthritis affects approximately 275,000 children nationwide. Symptoms may vary from one swollen joint to multiply affected joints coupled with fatigue, fever, and rash. Its effect on the school-age child can range from missing a few days of school per year to hospitalizations…

This study examined school nurses' communication with community physicians and its relationship to school nurse satisfaction with school health services. A stratified random sample of school nurses in Pennsylvania (N = 615) were surveyed about communication effectiveness with community physicians, satisfaction with school health services for…

This integrative literature review examines research studies that describe the care of the student with type 1 diabetes at school and interventions to improve care. Participants of the studies include school nurses, counselors, staff, administrators, parents, and students with diabetes. The studies reviewed use a descriptive approach in examining…

Baltimore's school-based vision-screening program may be leaving thousands of children with uncorrected eyesight problems. Vision screening in public schools is essential for students to learn, especially when low-income children face a high rate of eyesight problems and have poor access to health care. Left undetected and uncorrected, vision…

The numbers of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) have increased in schools. This study was conducted to document mothers' experiences of the care their CSHCN receive across health care and educational settings. Data were collected during standardized, open-ended, one-on-one interviews with 10 mothers of CSHCN in urban, suburban, and…

Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the mental health risk profile and health utilization behaviors of adolescent school-based health center (SBHC) users and nonusers and discuss the role that SBHCs can play in addressing adolescent health needs. Methods: The sample included 4640 students in grades 9 and 11 who completed the…

There is a large research base indicating numerous gender differences in prevalence rates of psychopathology, the expression of psychopathology, and the etiology of psychopathology across different disorders (Zahn-Waxler, Shirtcliff, & Marceau, 2008). Such documented gender differences in mental health among children and adolescents have…