What’s Up With “Step Up”? Step Up and Be Counted

Abstract

The health and well-being of children who attend school is not collected in any national data sets. To effectively advocate for the health needs of children where they live, learn, and play, it is essential to build a National Uniform School Nurse Data Set. In 2014, school nurses nationwide were invited to join the Step Up and Be Counted! initiative. To prepare nurses for data collection and reporting, an informational website was established, a marketing campaign was launched, and a data collection tool was developed. Trainings were held at the national conferences of both the National Association of School Nurses and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants, and locally by state school nurse consultants and champions. The goal of the 2014-2015 academic year was to establish the processes for such a large-scale effort. In Year 1, only three initial data sets were collected from participating school nurses from 37 states. The first year yielded much data, and challenges have been identified and addressed.

An Appraisal of School Nurse Health Services and Programs in North Carolina Public Schools, 2006–2016

“…Also, it is important for school nurses to collect and analyze data about the numbers and types of health conditions students have, the care they provide, and their impact on student health and education outcomes. It is imperative that these data are collected in a standardized form (e.g., using the same terms and definitions) so that data can be aggregated (Bergren et al, 2016) across state school districts and nationally.…”

“…Examining the impact of school nurses on student health and education outcomes is necessary to illustrate the impact on the student educational process, the need for students to have access to a school nurse each day, and to direct planning and resources for the types of services needed. There is a gap in the availability of data in current national data sets that capture health care provided to students in school (Bergren et al, 2016). To address the gap in school nurse health services data, this study focuses on services that are related to two chronic conditions that are now significantly affecting children, asthma and diabetes.…”

The Role of the Designated State Data Champion

“…is a grassroots effort that begins with each individual school nurse collecting specific data points with specific definitions. The initiative began collecting data during the 2014-2015 school year (Bergren et al, 2016). During the first year, the data points focused on the school health workforce (number registered nurses, licensed practical/vocation nurses, and other health extenders), the number of students with certain chronic conditions (diabetes, asthma, seizures, lifethreatening allergies), and whether students who went to the health office returned to class, went home, or if 911 was called.…”

Framing Your Narrative

“…NASN is supporting research to demonstrate student outcomes for students who have access to a school nurse. School nurses across the United States are being asked to collect and submit data to the joint initiative between NASN and NASSN (Maughan et al, 2016). We need both the narrative and the research to influence the values and beliefs of the decision makers who ultimately determine whether students will have the care of a school nurse.…”