School-Based Interventions That Address Students' Unmet Material Needs: A Scoping Review

Unmet material needs disrupt student learning and behavior. Some school-based programs address these needs, but we know less about their impact.

We conducted a scoping review of studies published between 2013 and 2023 in the United States that evaluated school-based strategies to address unmet material needs.

We included 55 studies and identified four intervention types: providing food, delivering healthcare, connecting families to resources, and offering transportation. Researchers have evaluated these interventions for school performance, participation, and safety. Most studies evaluated the effects of providing food on school performance (n = 21) and participation (n = 19), with mixed findings. Several studies evaluated the effects of providing healthcare on school performance (n = 14) and participation (n = 10), with overall supportive findings. There was limited evidence on connecting families to resources (n = 4) or offering transportation (n = 2). Across all interventions, only a few studies (n = 7) evaluated effects on school safety.

School-based healthcare can benefit school performance and participation.

The field has focused on the effects of providing food and healthcare on school participation and performance. We can gain a more comprehensive understanding of school-based strategies to address unmet material needs by (1) evaluating interventions beyond these two types, and (2) considering additional outcomes such as safety.