The Significance of Social Development Support in Schools: The Critical Role of School Nurses.

The growth of social development entails a progression where youth learn to interact with those around them. This manuscript provides interventions school nurses may use to incorporate social development into their daily practice and interactions with students. Social-emotional skills are pivotal to children's and adolescents' health, well-being, and academic success. Healthy social development can lead to improved self-confidence and better social relationships and have long-term benefits into adulthood. There is still much to learn about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the social development of children and adolescents. Nevertheless, school personnel, including the school nurse, must collaborate to support students, families, and each other to cultivate an environment that connects social development with education, health, and well-being.

The Role of School Connectedness in Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Youth: Recommendations for School Nurses.

The importance of students feeling connected in school cannot be overstated, as this perception is crucial to support their health and well-being. A lack of school connectedness can lead to adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including bully victimization. Numerous factors, including individual, social, and environmental, influence students' perceived sense of school connectedness. School nurses are well positioned to establish and maintain school connectedness due to their knowledge, accessibility to students, and familiarity with the school environment. This article details the importance of school connectedness and describes the associations between school connectedness, bullying, and mental health. In addition, we offer recommendations geared toward school nurses regarding strengthening school connectedness and promoting a culture of care and inclusivity within school environments, especially salient in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental Health Screenings: Practices and Patterns of These and Other Health Screenings in U.S. School Districts.

Schools' health screenings can identify students' missed health concerns. Data from the 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study were used to determine the proportion of U.S. school districts with physical and mental health screening policies and the proportion that arrange off-campus mental health services. We also examined differences between districts with and without mental health screening policies regarding having physical health screening policies, patterns of these policies, and off-campus mental health service arrangements. Eleven percent of districts had no policies on any of the four physical health screenings assessed, and 87% lacked policies on mental health screenings, the latter especially concerning considering the impact of COVID-19. Districts with policies on mental health screenings were significantly more likely to have body mass index (p < .01) and oral health (p < .001) screening policies, and to arrange for off-campus case management (p < .001), family counseling (p < .05), group counseling (p < .01), self-help (p < .05) and intake evaluation (p < .05).