School-Based Mental Health Support and Nursing
Summary
School-based mental health support and nursing encompasses a spectrum of preventative, promotive and interventional activities delivered within the educational setting to safeguard children’s and adolescents’ psychological well-being. Central to this endeavour are school nurses, who operate as accessible health professionals embedded in the school community. Their roles span early identification of emotional or behavioural concerns, delivery of brief interventions, coordination of referrals to specialised services and collaboration with teachers, families and community agencies. Programmes commonly integrate mental health literacy, resilience-building curricula, health dialogues and low-threshold counselling to reduce stigma and lower barriers to help-seeking. The school environment offers unique opportunities for universal screening, targeted support for vulnerable groups and continuity of care across developmental transitions. Globally, investment in school nursing infrastructure has been shown to improve early detection of distress, foster inclusive learning climates and contribute to broader public health goals by mitigating risk factors such as social isolation, academic pressure and adverse childhood experiences.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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School-Based Mental Health Support and Nursing publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in school-based mental health support and nursing across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Low-threshold service: An easily accessible form of support that minimises procedural and attitudinal barriers, such as walk-in counselling or informal drop-in sessions with a school nurse.
Mental health literacy: The knowledge and beliefs that enable recognition, management and prevention of mental health problems, including awareness of when and where to seek help.
Care ethics: A theoretical framework emphasising relational, context-sensitive and compassionate approaches to health promotion, prioritising trust-building and responsiveness to individual needs.
Health dialogue: A structured conversation between a school nurse and student aimed at assessing well-being, identifying risk factors and co-creating strategies for health and learning.
References
- Adolescent boys’ experiences of mental health and school health services - an interview study from Norway. BMC Public Health (2024).
- School nurses’ engagement and care ethics in promoting adolescent health. Nursing Ethics (2021).
- Supporting Student’s Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Survey for School Nurses. Children (2021).
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