The significance of this work is to 1) build capacity of school nurses to engage in research, and 2) inform and improve school nurse practice and delivery of mental health care to students using evidence-based research.

In 2017, Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) school nurses requested research support from a team of UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC and UNC Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) researchers. The research staff led the school nurses in a priority setting process using facilitative leadership to maximize group participation. School nurses identified their role in mental health as their top research priority. A multidisciplinary team, consisting of five school nurses and four researchers, has since met bimonthly to build school nurse research capacity and conduct mental health research.

The team conducted a literature review, as well as site visits to local schools to assess current practices. The multidisciplinary team identified the following research questions: 1) What is the role of school nurses in mental health service provision? 2) What individual and school-level factors influence the school nurses’ role?

The team designed a survey to distribute to all NC school nurses and obtained IRB approval. The team will analyze survey results and utilize the data to improve the mental health of children and adolescents in schools by enhancing school nurses’ ability to provide mental health support and care to students. Strategies for this include identifying and reducing current barriers, as well as identifying and supporting facilitators of school nurses’ mental health care of students.