Association of Presence of a School Nurse With Increased Sixth-Grade Immunization Rates in Low-Income Arizona Schools in 2014–2015

Jeffrey McCullough; Rebecca Sunenshine; Ramona Rusinak; Patty Mead; Bob England

doi:10.1177/1059840518824639

Association of Presence of a School Nurse With Increased Sixth-Grade Immunization Rates in Low-Income Arizona Schools in 2014–2015

Jeffrey McCullough, Rebecca Sunenshine, Ramona Rusinak, Patty Mead, Bob England

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

School nurses often play large roles in implementation of school vaccination requirements aimed at controlling the spread of communicable disease. We analyzed the association between the presence of a school nurse and school-level vaccination rates in Arizona. Using school-level data from Arizona sixth-grade schools (n = 749), we regressed average sixth-grade school-level immunization rates on presence of a school nurse (registered nurse [RN] or licensed practical nurse [LPN]) and school-level socioeconomic status (SES), controlling for other school- and district-level characteristics. Schools with a nurse had higher overall vaccination rates than those without a nurse (96.1% vs. 95.0%, p <.01). For schools in the lowest SES quartile, the presence of a school nurse was associated with approximately 2 percentage point higher immunization rates. These findings add to the growing literature that defines the impact of school nurses on student health status and outcomes, emphasizing the value of school nurses, especially in lower SES schools.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	360-368
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of School Nursing
Volume	36
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840518824639
State	Published - Oct 1 2020

Keywords

administration/management
elementary
health disparities
immunizations
quantitative research

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Nursing (miscellaneous)

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10.1177/1059840518824639

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abstract = "School nurses often play large roles in implementation of school vaccination requirements aimed at controlling the spread of communicable disease. We analyzed the association between the presence of a school nurse and school-level vaccination rates in Arizona. Using school-level data from Arizona sixth-grade schools (n = 749), we regressed average sixth-grade school-level immunization rates on presence of a school nurse (registered nurse [RN] or licensed practical nurse [LPN]) and school-level socioeconomic status (SES), controlling for other school- and district-level characteristics. Schools with a nurse had higher overall vaccination rates than those without a nurse (96.1% vs. 95.0%, p <.01). For schools in the lowest SES quartile, the presence of a school nurse was associated with approximately 2 percentage point higher immunization rates. These findings add to the growing literature that defines the impact of school nurses on student health status and outcomes, emphasizing the value of school nurses, especially in lower SES schools.",

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AU - England, Bob

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N2 - School nurses often play large roles in implementation of school vaccination requirements aimed at controlling the spread of communicable disease. We analyzed the association between the presence of a school nurse and school-level vaccination rates in Arizona. Using school-level data from Arizona sixth-grade schools (n = 749), we regressed average sixth-grade school-level immunization rates on presence of a school nurse (registered nurse [RN] or licensed practical nurse [LPN]) and school-level socioeconomic status (SES), controlling for other school- and district-level characteristics. Schools with a nurse had higher overall vaccination rates than those without a nurse (96.1% vs. 95.0%, p <.01). For schools in the lowest SES quartile, the presence of a school nurse was associated with approximately 2 percentage point higher immunization rates. These findings add to the growing literature that defines the impact of school nurses on student health status and outcomes, emphasizing the value of school nurses, especially in lower SES schools.

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Association of Presence of a School Nurse With Increased Sixth-Grade Immunization Rates in Low-Income Arizona Schools in 2014–2015

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