Poster Presentation
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
This presentation is part of : Poster Presentations I
Impact of School Nurse Intervention on Student Health and Attendance
Penny C. Weismuller, DrPH, RN, Department of Nursing, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, USA, Merry A. Grasska, MPH, RN, NP-C, Health Services, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Costa Mesa, CA, USA, Marilyn Alexander, RN, BSN, PHN, ACCESS, Orange County Department of Education, Costa Mesa, CA, USA, and Patricia S. Kramer, BA, RN, Health Services, Garden Grove Unified School District, Garden Grove, CA, USA.
Learning Objective #1: identify commonly used nursing interventions in elementary schools and their associated student health outcomes.
Learning Objective #2: describe the impact of school nurse interventions on the attendance of elementary school students.
Children in poor health are seven times more likely to miss 11 or more school days a year due to injury or illness than children in good health (Day & Bloom, 2005). Student absenteeism rates appear to have a direct correlation to academic performance (Chan, 2002). Previous research has documented the helpfulness of increased nurse ratios and students staying in school, especially related to students with chronic illnesses (Allen, 2003, Fryer & Igoe, 1995). Two studies demonstrate that school nurses (SN) influence student attendance (Kimel, 1995; Long et al., 1975). These studies have not defined which nursing interventions are most effective in addressing absenteeism.

The purpose of this project is to describe the impact of school nursing interventions on student attendance and student health conditions through a retrospective record review of 500 randomly selected elementary school students.

The data collection tool was developed with input and review by experienced SNs and nurse faculty. The Nurse Intervention Classification set will be used to code nurse interventions. Sample interventions likely to be used by school nurses are multidisciplinary care conferences, health screenings, referrals, and medication management. The School Administrative Student Information system will be used to identify numbers, types and dates of student absences.

Data collection in two school districts will be conducted in January 2006. Experienced nursing staff will conduct the record reviews and data collection. Analysis of the first 100 cases will be included in the poster presentation, including effect of SN interventions on student attendance and on referral health conditions (e.g., asthma, cardiac diagnoses, seizures, diabetes and emotional-behavioral problems.)

Evidence of nursing impact is critical in advocating for school nursing services. This study adds information about student attendance outcomes of SN intervention, which is missing from current literature.

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)