Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Vaccinia Reporter Viruses for Quantifying Viral Function at All Stages of Gene Expression
Published on: May 15, 2014
Making chicken pox prevention a priority
1Departments of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Immunology and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
Insights
School nurses identify unvaccinated children susceptible to chickenpox (varicella). They prioritize educating students and parents due to communication barriers with healthcare providers, ensuring optimal child health and wellness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
- Nursing Practice
Background:
- School nurses play a crucial role in identifying children susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases like chickenpox (varicella).
- Current healthcare communication limitations hinder direct collaboration between school nurses and primary care providers.
- School nurses manage diverse responsibilities, including immunization tracking, health assessments, and individualized care plans.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the challenges school nurses face in managing student health information and communicating with external healthcare providers.
- To emphasize the importance of school nurses in disease prevention and health education within the school community.
- To provide essential knowledge for school nurses to effectively promote student health and wellness.
Main Methods:
- Review of daily chart management, including immunization records and illness history.
- Analysis of communication barriers between school nurses and primary care providers.
- Discussion of the educational role of school nurses in student and parent outreach.
Main Results:
- School nurses are uniquely positioned to identify at-risk students for varicella due to access to health records.
- Direct communication with primary care providers is challenging, necessitating a focus on student and parent education.
- The role of school nurses extends beyond immediate care to long-term health promotion and disease prevention.
Conclusions:
- School nurses are vital in preventing disease outbreaks by identifying and educating susceptible student populations.
- Effective communication strategies and prioritization are essential for school nurses to fulfill their public health role.
- Ongoing education and knowledge dissemination are critical for school nurses to optimize student health outcomes.
Abstract:
School nurses are the IDEAL professionals to catch those kids without a history of chicken pox (varicella illness) who have not been immunized, thereby falling into the susceptible range. We handle charts daily. We have both illness history (if it was provided) and immunization dates. We can call parents. We can talk to kids. Wouldn't it be easy if we could do that and then call (or email) the primary care provider? But there is no longer an "easy" way to communicate health information. Doing things the easy way could be perceived by some as "tattling" and by others as "reporting without permission." Instead, the school nurse must take the time-consuming (and better long range) path of education ... of the student, and the parent. And the priority can slip down below other school nurse requirements such as getting kids their required immunizations, first aid and illness care, individualized health care plans for students with medical problems, parent and teacher phone calls, and endless conversations. It takes a village to raise a child though, and the school nurse is a village resident. The following information is vital to the knowledge base of today's school nurse. Please read it, store it and consider it when planning and intervening with your students in the day-to-day interaction that promotes optimal health and wellness.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:51Vaccinations
01:20Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
01:24Smallpox
01:20Chickenpox
01:17Poliomyelitis