Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
School Based Case Management for Children with Chronic Illness
Martha Keehner Engelke, RN, PhD1, Martha Guttu, MSN, RN, BC2, and Michelle Warren, RN, MEd1. (1) School of Nursing, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA, (2) School Nursing, NC Department of Health and Human Services, Greenville, NC, USA
| Learning Objective #1: 1. Discuss academic and health outcomes of a school based case management program provided by school nurses for children with chronic illness. |
| Learning Objective #2: 2. Describe evidence-based resources available to school nurses using hand held computers as they provide case management to children with chronic illness. |
School Based Case Management for Children with Chronic Illness
Chronic illness in children is a global concern. The etiology may differ but the prevalence of chronic illness in children is increasing in many countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stressed the need for community partnerships based on local resources to address the needs of these children. Case management is one strategy that can improve health in people with chronic illness. Most case management programs have focused on adults and are hospital or clinic-based. Few programs focus on children and even fewer are school-based.
In 2006, we began a school-based case management program for children with chronic illness. It is an academic/service partnership between a school of nursing, a regional school nurse consultant, and school nurses in five rural counties. Children with asthma, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, seizures, or severe allergies are enrolled in the project if they are having difficulty managing their illness at school and if their parent consents. School nurses provide a detailed assessment, a comprehensive plan of care and specific interventions based on evidence based guidelines. Outcomes include health outcomes (episodes of acute illness; use of preventive services; physical function; social and psychological adjustment and quality of life) as well as academic outcomes (absenteeism for health condition; end of grade tests and course grades; and participation in school-based activities).
One of the unique aspects of the project is that the school nurses use hand held computers for the retrieval of evidence-based guidelines as well as documentation of their care. This allows for ongoing analysis of data by the project team in a timely manner. Data from year 1 of project will be presented.
*This project is funded by the Kate B. Reynolds Health Care Trust