Step Up and Be Counted! Update: The National Standardized School Nurse Data Set

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Nursing Informatics

Background:

• Current national data sets lack comprehensive school health information, including provider details, student health status, and intervention effectiveness.
• Existing data collection methods are not uniform across states or health service models, hindering analysis and comparison.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a standardized data set for school nurses, "Step Up and Be Counted!", to collect uniform data nationwide.
• To improve the capture of meaningful school health data, including provider credentials, student chronic conditions, and care outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of "Step Up and Be Counted!": A National Standardized School Nurse Data Set since 2014.
• Standardized data collection on healthcare providers in schools, student chronic conditions, and student disposition post-care.
• Conducting professional development sessions at national and state levels to promote data collection and standardization.

Main Results:

• Collected data on the types of healthcare providers in schools and prevalent student chronic conditions.
• Documented the disposition of students after receiving care in the school health office.
• Initiated standardized data collection across participating states and school districts.

Conclusions:

• The "Step Up and Be Counted!" initiative is crucial for filling critical gaps in national school health data.
• Standardization of data collection enhances the ability to understand and improve school nursing practice and student health outcomes.
• Ongoing efforts focus on expanding participation and ensuring data accuracy and validity for robust analysis.