Impact on school injuries: A possible school nurse outcome

Each year in the United States over 3.7 million school-aged children are injured in the US, with 25% of the injuries occurring at school-related events. Injuries are also a major reason children miss school. Although research has analyzed the type of injuries that require emergency attention and types of injuries occurring on school property, little can be found that analyzes the role of the school or public health nurse in these events. The purpose of this study is to determine how often and to what extent the school nurse is involved in injuries at school, especially if 911 is called. A secondary data analysis of 5 years of data collected in Utah was analyzed to determine frequency, impact and extent of school nurse involvement. Preliminary results in Utah indicated only 11% of injuries were checked by the school nurse; and only 5% of the calls to 911were checked by the school nurse. Yet, 911 is called 4 times a week in Utah Schools. Nurses are often not notified until after the fact. In other states, school nurses are present and impact injury outcomes, including absenteeism. Absenteeism due to injuries may be an appropriate school nurse outcome. The influence of school nurses related to if 911 is called may be another outcome. These data are collected to some extent already in many states and could be comparable across the nation. Further studies related to policies and cost analysis will also be discussed.