Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) are ideal settings to address social needs of youth and families. Case managers can play a vital role in social care interventions. Methods: We piloted a program to incorporate a Case Manager into the care team of 1 SBHC serving 2 local schools with over 900 students and their surrounding…

Background: Dental caries (tooth decay) is the world's most prevalent noncommunicable disease and can lead to pain, infection, and edentulism. Many children with caries lack access to traditional dental services. School-based caries prevention can increase access to care and reduce health inequities. Disruptions in school-based care due to…

Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) have the capability to overcome youth barriers to care. Virtual care programs (VCP) facilitate connection between school nurse and off-site SBHC providers and can increase the reach of SBHCs. This project aimed to examine Denver Public School nurses' perspectives of a pilot VCP. Methods: Thirteen…

Background: In 2012, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Department of Public Health partnered together to create the Chicago School-Based Vision Program (CSBVP). This ongoing, city-wide program provides school-based vision services (eye examinations, eyeglasses provision, and eye care referrals) to students with limited access. Methods:…

Background: We examined trends in mental health service utilization before, during, and in the immediate return to in-person learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Retrospective chart review was assessed for changes in odds of any visit being a mental health encounter from five school-based health centers from the 2018-2019 to the…

Background: Health care utilization can vary by age group, geographic location, and socioeconomic status (SES). A paucity of information exists regarding the availability and utilization of medical care by injured scholastic athletes. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare injuries and health care service utilization by school SES…

Background: Asthma reliever medication access is critical, especially in schools. Policies that "stock" reliever inhalers in schools provide failsafe medication access. This research aims to understand barriers and facilitators to Illinois stock inhaler policy implementation. Methods: We conducted 18 semi-structured interviews in…

Children require accessible, affordable health care to support health and education outcomes. Health care access is affected by children's social determinants of health. School-based health centers (SBHC) bypass larger social structures and social determinants of health, providing accessible health care to children. New SBHC development should…

Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) offer primary and preventive health care for children and adolescents. Using nationally representative data, we aimed to examine which child and family characteristics are associated with using school-based health care providers as the primary source of health care, and whether care received from…

Background: School-based dental sealant programs are noted to increase sealant uptake among children, especially those from low-income families and those living in rural and underserved areas. However, nationally school-based dental sealant programs are substantially underutilized. This paper describes a partnership approach to a school-based…

Background: Telehealth utilization exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, including within school-based health programs. School-based tele-behavioral health can help programs overcome barriers of access to care, but the current state and effectiveness of such programs are unknown. Methods: A scoping literature review was conducted. Studies were…

Background: Adolescents often lack access to accurate and appropriate sexual health information and services. Providing information about local clinical services during sexual health education classes is one strategy to increase awareness, yet many programs miss this opportunity. This study aims to learn about adolescents' experiences with sexual…

Background: There are known health disparities in adolescent substance treatment access and engagement. The purpose of this project is to compare outcomes from school- and clinic-based substance treatment and to evaluate if providing school-based substance treatment reduces disparities in treatment access and engagement. Method: This quality…

Objective: Despite widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines, millions of Americans have not received the recommended vaccine doses. In the District of Columbia (DC), COVID-19 vaccination rates are lowest among residents who are Non-Hispanic (NH) Black and among school-aged children. We assessed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among staff and…

Background: More than 20 million children in the United States lack access to primary health care. Practice Learning: Research shows that students with regular access to physical and mental health services have fewer absences, are more social, less likely to participate in risky behaviors, have improved focus and higher test scores. Implication…