The Feasibility of Collecting School Nurse Data.

School nurses cite barriers to collecting comprehensive data on the care they provide. This study evaluated the feasibility of collecting school nurse data on selected child health and education outcomes. Outcome variables included school health office visits; health provider, parent, and staff communication; early dismissal; and medications administered. On an average day, the school nurses cared for 43.5 students, administered 14 medications, and averaged of 17 daily communications. Day 1 data collection times averaged 15 min or less. By Day 5, 6.6 min was needed to complete the survey. Data collection was feasible for 76% of those who elected to participate. Feasibility is enhanced by limiting the number of data points and the number of days for data collection using a data collection web interface. Data collection across large numbers of nurses and a wide range of school nurse delivery models is necessary to measure the impact of school nurse presence and interventions on child health and education outcomes.