Sensitive school nursing outcomes: Using a delphi process and other developments

Identifying key nursing outcomes is vital. In the age of accountability it is critical for school nurses to identify outcomes they can measure and use nationwide to illustrate the impact nurses have on health and academics. This is a critical workforce issue as the role of the school nurse is often not well understood; with no quantifiable measures of accountability they are often cut or spread too thin. Over 50 potential school nursing outcomes have been identified. The purpose of this study was to narrow down and prioritize outcomes that are sensitive to school nursing interventions. A modified delphi approach, based on the method used by RAND/UCLA and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is being conducted to assist in this process. School nursing experts will evaluate and score each until a consensus is reached. Preliminary results of the study will be discussed, along with other activities concurrently being done to identify population-based outcomes. This is a very fluid movement, with much being discovered every day. This session will provide the most up to date results regarding school nurse sensitive outcomes and promote the use of critical school nursing outcomes in research, evaluation and policy worldwide. Although this is about school nursing, the same principles can apply to public health nursing and other of its sub-specialties. Discussion regarding the identification and use of population-based outcomes will be included in the presentation. There will be an opportunity for others to share and discussion options.