The impact of school nurse interventions: Behaviour change and mental health

Abstract

School nurse contacts provide an opportunity for interventions with children, yet evidence suggests that there is limited evaluation of the outcomes of these interventions. This review of the literature explored the impact of school nurse interventions relating to mental health and behaviour change. A total of 29 papers were included in the review. Analysis revealed positive outcomes for young people including increased access and engagement with services, improved levels of stress and anxiety and behaviour change relating to lifestyle issues. School nurses were viewed as unique professionals with effective communication and interpersonal skills supported by training and service delivery methods. There were also benefits for schools in developing supportive environments and improved pupil attendance. A number of gaps and barriers relating to intervention delivery and evaluation were also revealed; there was a need for improved education and training for school nurses and challenges to service delivery were described pertaining to working with other services and professionals. A variety of evaluation methods were used to identify outcomes, including qualitative and quantitative methods and standardised tools. However, the majority of papers described outcomes without reference to a systematic approach to evaluation. Evaluation and measurement of school nurse practice is a valuable activity and school nurse teams need to ensure robust methods for evaluation are established to demonstrate outcomes and develop practice.