School Nursing Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Summary
School nurses worldwide emerged as pivotal figures in the management of student and community health throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Their responsibilities extended from conventional first-aid and chronic condition monitoring to leading infection-control measures, coordinating vaccination drives and contact tracing, and providing psycho-social support. Rapid shifts to remote and hybrid learning environments necessitated novel modes of engagement, including telehealth consultations, virtual health education and digital outreach to vulnerable pupils. Collaboration with local health authorities and school leadership became integral to developing adaptable policies on cohorting, surveillance testing and quarantine protocols. Constrained resources and evolving guidelines placed considerable demands on school nursing staff, resulting in heightened workloads, emotional strain and concern for the continuity of routine health services. Nevertheless, resilience and ingenuity led to the creation of evidence-informed toolkits, decision aids and infographics, ensuring consistent delivery of essential services. The experiences gathered during the pandemic highlight the need for sustained investment in school health infrastructure, clear emergency preparedness frameworks and ongoing professional development to reinforce the role of school nurses as public health experts in both crisis and standard practice.
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School Nursing Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in school nursing practices during the covid-19 pandemic across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Cohorting: The practice of grouping students and staff into consistent clusters to limit potential viral transmission.
Contact tracing: The process of identifying and notifying individuals who have been exposed to an infected person to prevent further spread.
Telehealth consultation: Remote delivery of healthcare services via digital communication tools such as video conferencing.
Surveillance testing: Regular testing of individuals regardless of symptoms to detect asymptomatic infections and monitor outbreak trends.
Infographic: A visual tool that combines graphics and concise text to summarise data or guidelines for rapid comprehension.
Burnout: A state of physical and emotional exhaustion often resulting from prolonged stress and increased workload.
References
- New Modes of Practice: A Framework Analysis of School Nurses' Accounts of Working With Children and Young People During COVID‐19. Journal of Advanced Nursing (2024).
- School nursing: New ways of working with children and young people during the Covid‐19 pandemic: A scoping review. Journal of Advanced Nursing (2022).
- School Nurse Perspectives of Working with Children and Young People in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Survey Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022).
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