School nurses intervene with students, parents, and school staff to advance the health and academic success of students. We conducted an integrative literature review of published research to describe the types of school nurse interventions and health and education outcome measures and to examine how school nurse interventions were linked to student outcomes. Sixty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. We used the National Association of School Nurses' Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice to categorize school nurse interventions and health and education outcome measures. The majority of interventions were categorized under the care coordination principle, most commonly, motivational interviewing and counseling. In 17 studies, school nurse interventions were linked to improved student outcomes. Most studies (80%) were descriptive. To advance school nursing science, researchers can build on this foundation with more rigorous research methods to evaluate the impact of school nurse interventions and activities on student health and education outcomes.

African American women with breast cancer generally rely on their spirituality to cope with psychosocial issues encountered during survivorship. However, in order to mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19, a potentially deadly disease, it is imperative that community-dwelling older adults physically distance themselves from supportive family, friends, and even traditional faith-based activities. In this report, we explore the ways in which spirituality was used to manage stressors during this pandemic. This is a qualitative descriptive study with content analysis of data from the narratives from 18 African American breast cancer survivors. Participants were interviewed via phone and video conferencing platform and asked to respond to questions of strategies used to manage stressors encountered during this COVID-19 pandemic. Spirituality enabled African American breast cancer survivors to better manage their psychological distress through (1) increased engagement in religious activities; (2) reliance on God for protection when fearful, feeling isolated, and in need of assistance to pay household bills; (3) finding joy and courage from listening to gospel music and reading scripture; and (4) finding meaning through spirituality. These findings suggest that in spite of physical distancing requirements that impose limited access to faith-based institutions during this COVID-19 pandemic, spirituality continues to be a supportive resource to manage emotional stressors.

Purpose To determine whether psychosocial factors predict depression among older African American cancer patients. Design/Methods A descriptive correlational study. Setting Outpatient oncology clinic of NCI designated Cancer Center in Southeastern U.S. Sample African American cancer patients aged 50 and over. Methods Fisher’s Exact and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests were used to evaluate differences between patients who were possibly depressed (Geriatric Depression Scale) or not. Multivariate linear regression statistics were used to identify the psychosocial factors that predicted higher depression scores. Education and gender were included as covariates. Main Variables Religiosity, emotional support, collectivism, perceived stigma and depression. Findings African American cancer patients (n=77) were on average a median age of 58 years (IQR = 55–65), a majority were well-educated, insured, religiously affiliated, and currently in treatment. Participants in the lowest income category, not married, and male gender had higher depression scores. The multivariable model consisting of organized religion, emotional support, collectivism, education, and gender explained 52% (adjusted R2) of the variation in depression scores. Stigma became insignificant in the multivariable model. Conclusions Psychosocial factors are important predictors of depression. For these participants, emotional support and organized religious activities may represent protective factors against depression, while collectivism may increase their risk. Implications Nurses need to be especially aware of the potential psychological strain for patients with collectivist values, experienced stigma, disruptions in church attendance and lack of emotional support. Further, these treatment plans for these patients should ensure that family members are knowledgeable about cancer, its treatment and side effects so they are empowered to meet the needs for support of the African American cancer patient.

Objective: To explore in a sample of school nurses (SN) in California the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school nurse health services, how school nurses mitigated the impact of COVID-19, and moral distress levels among school nurses.Design and Methods: Nineteen (N = 19) school nurses who work in K-12 schools in California, USA participated in a mixed-methods approach involving qualitative descriptive design, inductive content analysis, and descriptive statistics. Interviews were conducted in August and September 2021.Results: Five themes emerged: (1) role of the SN during the COVID-19 pandemic,(2) coordination with school administration, (3) COVID-19 related challenges and disruptions to care, (4) moral distress, and (5) coping during the pandemic. Conclusion:The pandemic had a profound impact on school nurses. This study provides school nurse perspectives of the impact of COVID-19 on services they delivered, the unique skills of school nurses essential to mitigation strategies, and moral distress school nurses encountered during the pandemic. Understanding the important role school nurses had during the pandemic is paramount to fully contextualize the contributions they made within public health nursing practice and inform preparedness for future pandemics.