Elementary School Nurse Interventions: Attendance and Health Outcomes

Regular school attendance is a necessary part of the learning process; student absenteeism has a direct association with poor academic performance. School nurses can influence student attendance. This study describes the impact of school nurse interventions on student absenteeism and student health....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of school nursing 2007-04, Vol.23 (2), p.111-118
Main Authors: Weismuller, Penny C., Grasska, Merry A., Alexander, Marilyn, White, Catherine G., Kramer, Pat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absenteeism
Academic Achievement
Attendance
Child
Child Health
Child, Preschool
Data Collection
Documentation
Educational Environment
Elementary School Students
Female
Grade 5
Health Promotion - organization & administration
Humans
Intervention
Learning Processes
Male
Medical Records Systems, Computerized
Needs Assessment
Nurse's Role
Nursing
Nursing Assessment
Nursing Diagnosis
Nursing Evaluation Research
Nursing Records
Outcomes of Education
Referral
Referral and Consultation
Retrospective Studies
School Nurses
School Nursing - organization & administration
School Policy
Total Quality Management
Vocabulary, Controlled
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Summary:Regular school attendance is a necessary part of the learning process; student absenteeism has a direct association with poor academic performance. School nurses can influence student attendance. This study describes the impact of school nurse interventions on student absenteeism and student health. A retrospective review of 240 randomly selected elementary student health folders and attendance records was conducted. School nurses were involved with 75% of high-absence students as compared to 66% of low-absence students; they were also more involved with students who had previously identified health conditions. There were no referrals to the school nurse for absenteeism and school nurse interventions were not targeted to attendance, despite 17% of students missing 11 or more school days. Nursing documentation was sparse and primarily task related. Few records contained entries of nursing diagnoses, interventions, or outcomes. Of the 134 interventions provided, only 56 (41.2%) had some information about the condition outcome, but it was insufficient to determine the effectiveness of nursing interventions. Furthermore, the record system did not support the collection of standard information for interventions or outcomes from which effectiveness could be determined. Recommendations include establishment of an attendance referral policy and improved documentation systems, including the use of standardized nursing language to demonstrate student outcomes.
ISSN:1059-8405
1546-8364
DOI:10.1177/10598405070230020901