How School Nurses Perceive Their Role in Addressing Student Mental Health Concerns

To provide foundational information for the development of a training program to prepare school nurses to deliver a mental health focused SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) approach, this study aimed to describe how school nurses perceive their role in addressing student mental health concerns and determine if these perceptions align with the components of SBIRT. We used content analysis to summarize open-ended survey responses of 38 school nurses to the question "What role do school nurses play in addressing student mental health?" Findings revealed 19 responses aligned with at least one component of SBIRT, one aligned with all three, and 30 focused mainly on forming trusting relationships with students. We conclude school nurses do not implement SBIRT in a systematic way but view its components as consistent with their role.