Adolescents often face hurdles that may interfere with accessing contraceptive services. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are available to many teens in the United States; however, only half of SBHCs that serve adolescents are permitted to provide contraception. The aim of this descriptive phenomenological study was to describe the lived…

The incoming President of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) traditionally outlines the theme for their presidency during their inaugural address. This address is given by incoming President of the NASN, Beth Mattey, who discusses previous themes that supported the mission of NASN, but changed every two years with each new president.…

Newly arrived immigrant and refugee children are faced with significant physical and mental health issues and often rely on school nurses for care and connection to healthcare. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore urban public school nurses' experiences caring for newly arrived children. Data were collected through…

Adolescence is a sensitive period in life and a time to redefine and learn new skills. In Norway, school health services provide individual health-promoting consultations with all eighth-grade students. As an aid to support these consultations, a dialogue tool called SchoolHealth was developed using a co-creation approach. SchoolHealth consists of…

A better understanding of the social influences, self-efficacy, and communication with parents, peers, and teachers associated with teenage pregnancy is required owing to the consequences of teenage pregnancy. This article aimed to determine the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and to understand the association between social influences,…

Background: Despite increased awareness of concussions, epidemiologic surveillance efforts have been scarce, especially among adolescents. This project, which was developed with school stakeholders (certified athletic trainers [ATCs], nurses, athletic directors), piloted a public secondary school-based online surveillance tool for interscholastic…

Schools are uniquely positioned to impact student health and academic outcomes through health and wellness policies. The purpose of this study was to describe factors influencing implementation of school health and wellness policies, specifically those focused on physical activity and nutrition. In-depth, stakeholder interviews were conducted with…

In this article, we report findings regarding parent communication and daughter's experiences of bullying and victimization in a sample of Hispanic families with seventh-grade daughters. About 57% of daughters reported experiencing any form of victimization and 37% reported engaging in some type of bullying behavior. Overall, the most common type…

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…

The purpose of the study was to explore how fixed and modifiable family, activity, and school factors affect a student's myopia risk and severity. We used national cross-sectional data from Taiwanese children in Grades 4-6. Bivariate and multivariate analyses, including logistic and ordinary least squares regression, examined factors related to…

School nurses are afforded minimal resources related to assessing pain in students with intellectual disability (ID) and have called for continuing education. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of an education program regarding best practices for assessing pain in students with ID. Educational sessions were presented to 248…

Passage of new laws, national standards regarding delegation, and the recommendation for at least one full-time nurse in every school have provided more visibility to the role of school nurses. Recent legislative amendments in Kentucky presented an opportunity to examine how the role of the school nurse is changing. Aims were to describe the (1)…

Chronic absenteeism, commonly defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason (excused or unexcused), detracts from learning and is a proven early warning sign of academic risk and school dropout. It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that the registered professional school nurse is an integral member…

Susan Kitchell decided to become a school-based healthcare provider after working for more than twenty years in pediatrics and pediatric critical care at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. She needed a position with daytime hours within her field of expertise that allowed her time to spend with her family. She began working as a school nurse in…

School nurses are often sources of health-care support for teens with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies. However, providing prevention (e.g., condoms) and teaching technical skills (e.g., condom use) needed to reduce high-risk sexual behavior may require a change in perceptions and policies. This study used a…