Opening the doors for school health—An exploration of public health nurses’ capacities to engage in comprehensive school health programs

Abstract

Objectives Public health nurses (PHNs) have a significant role in engaging the voice and actions of school communities in promoting the health of children and youth. School nursing was one of the early 20th century public health nursing foci and specialties in Canada, however over several decades, there has been a gap in actualizing PHNs’ full potential in schools. At the same time, intersectoral and interdisciplinary comprehensive school health (CSH) models have emerged as exemplars of partnerships between schools and communities to advance health promotion and ultimately chronic disease prevention with school populations (Pan‐Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health, ; World Health Organization, ). Design and Measurement Using a participatory action research methodology we explored the role of PHNs in CSH, drawing on the concept of engagement in intersectoral healthy school teams. Results and Conclusions The three themes that emerged from the data analysis were: facilitators of public health nursing engagement, barriers to public health nursing engagement, and the influences of community context on engagement. Overall, findings indicate that the PHN role in CSH must be developed and supported so that PHNs remain a vital link between school health communities, programs, and policies in the promotion of health.

Community Voice in Cross-Sector Alignment: Concepts and Strategies from a Scoping Review of the Health Collaboration Literature

“…While several strategies discussed above have the potential to be sustained within aligning sectors and organizations, challenges to sustainability are discussed often and may even be inherent. Several studies note that engaging communities is di cult [18,42]. Active community voice can be di cult to retain, often requiring unexpected compromises in implementation strategies, changes in research design, shifts in priorities, delays in anticipated schedules, surrender of power to the community, and ultimately, a shift in expectations for both processes and objectives [18,38,43].…”

“100 Years of University Nursing Education”: The Significance of a Baccalaureate Nursing Degree and Its Public Health Origins for Nursing Now

“…In recent decades, the focus of public health has further shifted to programs and population-focused interventions in public health organizations and government, while funding of programs has not increased. Public health nursing in 2020 is no longer what it was, following decades of erosion of nursing priorities, programs, leadership, and continuity of connections between nurses and communities (Kirk, 2020;Sanders et al, 2019).…”

Public health nurses in Canadian schools: An opportunity to build capacity and nursing scholarship

“…Public health nurses (PHNs) in Canada have the potential to significantly benefit the health and academic outcomes of school aged children with its impact lasting into adulthood (Canadian Nurses Association [CNA], 2018; Sanders et al., 2019). After the home, schools are the most influential environments for children (Pan‐Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health [JCSH], 2018]; Sanders et al., 2019). According to the World Health Organization (n.d.), an investment into school health programming is one of the most cost‐effective approaches to improve both the education and health of our youth.…”

“…According to the World Health Organization (n.d.), an investment into school health programming is one of the most cost‐effective approaches to improve both the education and health of our youth. Unfortunately, persistent health care funding cuts have diminished the presence of nurses in Canadian schools (Sanders et al., 2019). PHNs have struggled to maintain a visible presence in schools, facing many barriers to practice such as an inability to practice to their full scope and high student to nurse ratios (Sanders et al., 2019; Seigart et al., 2013).…”

“…Unfortunately, persistent health care funding cuts have diminished the presence of nurses in Canadian schools (Sanders et al., 2019). PHNs have struggled to maintain a visible presence in schools, facing many barriers to practice such as an inability to practice to their full scope and high student to nurse ratios (Sanders et al., 2019; Seigart et al., 2013). Paradoxically, as the presence of PHNs have been reduced in schools, there has been increasing recognition about the important link between healthy students and better educational outcomes (JCSH, 2018; Sanders et al., 2019).…”