School-Based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice

Abstract

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are unique health care settings for our nation's school-aged children and adolescents. SBHCs represent the collaboration between the health and school communities to support the health and mental health needs and the academic achievements of children and adolescents, particularly students with health disparities or poor access to health care. SBHCs improve access to health care services for students by decreasing financial, geographic, age, and cultural barriers. This policy statement provides an overview of SBHCs, including the scope of services as well as some of the documented benefits and challenges. This policy statement also reviews the role of SBHCs in working with the pediatric medical home and provides recommendations that support the coordination of SBHCs with pediatric primary care providers and the pediatric medical home. BACKGROUNDSchool-based health centers (SBHCs) are unique health care settings for school-aged children and adolescents that have been proven to improve access to care, improve health outcomes, and reduce health disparities. 1,2 Conveniently located in schools or on school grounds, SBHCs provide primary care services that address the physical and mental health needs of students. SBHCs represent a collaborative commitment with the school community to support the health and academic success of children and adolescents. 3 Significant growth in the number of SBHCs in the United States over the last 2 decades is evident in the most recent data from the National School-Based Health Care Census report conducted by the School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA) in 2016-2017. 4 According to that report, there are 2584 SBHCs that serve students and communities in 48 of 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 4 The number of SBHCs has more than doubled since 1998. 4 Currently, 46% of SBHCs are in urban communities, 36% are in rural areas, and 18% are in suburban

Teen and caregiver perspectives on success, clinician role, and family involvement in ACTION PAC, a weight management intervention trial

“…Adolescents appreciated the approach and felt it was key to their success. Since implementation reflected real-world conditions (i.e., fairly limited contact with clinicians who were not experienced with MI before delivering the intervention [ 23 ]) there is potential to continue use of this approach to motivating behavior changes in SBHC settings, which are an integral part of the health care system for vulnerable adolescents [ 17 ]. Additional qualitative studies could be conducted with adolescents and their caregivers and clinicians to identify ways to optimize delivery of MI-based care for adolescents in SBHCs.…”

“…SBHCs are a particularly important source of health care for adolescents, who often do not seek care elsewhere [ 17 ]. They are generally co-located with schools and offer care that is student-focused during convenient times (i.e., during school hours) [ 17 , 18 ].…”

“…SBHCs are a particularly important source of health care for adolescents, who often do not seek care elsewhere [ 17 ]. They are generally co-located with schools and offer care that is student-focused during convenient times (i.e., during school hours) [ 17 , 18 ]. In the study locations, SBHCs provide medical and behavioral health care services, including primary and preventive care (e.g., well child checks, immunizations, reproductive health care services), urgent care, and mental health screening and counseling, and can connect students with community medical and behavioral services as needed (e.g., for intensive or after hours care) [ 17 , 18 ].…”

School‐Based Health Center Utilization During COVID‐19 Pandemic‐Related School Closures

“…Health care services provided by SBHCs may include primary care, dental care, mental health care, social services, and health education 5 . SBHCs are frequently operated in partnership with local community health providers and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCS), and placed in under‐resourced areas with limited access to health care 6 …”

“… 5 SBHCs are frequently operated in partnership with local community health providers and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCS), and placed in under‐resourced areas with limited access to health care. 6 …”