Policy Review and Recommendation for Secondary Education NP-Led Clinics in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

Secondary-level education involves adolescent children aged 11-12 years to 18-19 with unique healthcare needs. Their healthcare is of significant importance as they are transitioning to adulthood, and a majority of them lack access to primary healthcare needs. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses/Nurse Practitioners (APRNs/NPs) provide high-quality, cost-effective, and evidence-based care to people across the lifespan, and there is minimal utilization of their services in meeting the primary care needs of adolescents at the secondary school level. The purpose of the policy project was to determine if current policies and practices related to school health services in three southeastern states of the United States are achieving the primary healthcare goals of adolescents and to make recommendations for policy revisions. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Policy Process (POLARIS) framework and the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Model (JHNEBP) were used to appraise literature and to guide policy evaluation. The review included the best practice recommendations from CDC, HHS, and School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA). The themes include SBHCs as a proven and accepted strategy, sponsorship for SBHCs, staffing structure for School-based health centers (SBHCs), Nurse practitioners as providers, the reproductive and sexual health of adolescents, the mental health of adolescents, and healthcare delivery models. School health services are provided through either traditional school health services with school nurses or SBHCs or in combination in all these three states and are at different stages. Based on the findings, policy briefs are developed for each of the three states to include Nurse Practitioners as primary healthcare providers.