Journal of School Nursing - June 2019 - 167

Muggeo and Ginsburg

perceived need in implementing evidence-based practices and
consequently are not representative of the school nurse population in New England and nationally. School nurse practices
differ based on state laws, geography, and responsibilities (Mangena & Maughan, 2015), factors that are likely to influence the
nurses' perceived needs in terms of training and intervening on
mental health issues in their students. Additionally, the study
lacks a more comprehensive examination of current practices
and their effectiveness in reducing student anxiety. Follow-up
questions and qualitative data will be necessary in future surveys to gather a better understating of school nurses' current
practices and needs.

Conclusion
Excessive student anxiety is common but often goes underidentified and undertreated. Because anxious youth frequently
visit their school nurse with somatic complaints, nurses may
be in an ideal position to assist these youth. Findings from this
survey suggest that school nurses perceive anxiety as a top
problem but do not receive sufficient training in evidencebased practices to screen or reduce anxiety symptoms in their
students. While the intent is not to replace the role of mental
health providers, giving school nurses tools to screen and
intervene early with anxious youth may represent an effective
way to decrease their burden in the long term as well as
contributing to the well-being of their students.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all the nurses and supervisors who
participated.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Journal of School Nursing - June 2019

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