Other Titles
Supporting Mental Health In Adolescents: Elevating the Role of the School Nurse [Poster Title]
Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation
Abstract
Youth mental health is a national public health priority, marked by high rates of depressive episodes and suicidal ideation, often without adequate treatment. School nurses are pivotal in addressing these challenges, providing essential prevention, early identification, intervention, and referral services. This project details the implementation of the evidence-based Mental Health Training Intervention for Health Providers in Schools (MH-TIPS), designed to enhance the knowledge, confidence, and preparedness of Southern California school nurses in identifying and referring students with mental health conditions. Participants completed a three-week in-service program, integrating self-paced MH-TIPS modules with web-based presentations and collaborative development of local resource maps. Outcomes, including mental health knowledge, self-reported confidence, preparedness, and training satisfaction, were comprehensively assessed at pre-implementation, immediately post-implementation, and three months post-implementation. Results (N=36) demonstrated significant and sustained improvements in mental health knowledge p< .001. Mean knowledge scores markedly increased from 43.4% (SD=13.04) pre-implementation to 84% (SD=13.22) post-implementation, with gains sustained at 86.5% (SD=13.75) at three months. Similarly, confidence (e.g., discussing concerns, p< .001) and preparedness (e.g., recognizing behavioral signs of distress p< .001) also exhibited significant improvements that were largely sustained across the follow-up period. Participants reported satisfaction with the training (mean 3.22, SD=0.59), and reported detecting a mean of approximately 12 (SD=5.81) student mental health concerns over three months, connecting nearly all students to services via established pathways (97.2%). Qualitative feedback consistently affirmed the training's relevance, flexible delivery, and facilitative guidance. This quality improvement project successfully substantiates that MH-TIPS significantly enhances school nurses' competencies in youth mental health. While effective in skill-building, persistent systemic barriers—such as limited resources, insufficient administrative support, and pervasive stigma—continue to impede optimal care delivery. Future initiatives must integrate the proven efficacy of such training with robust advocacy for increased resources and systemic policy changes to ensure comprehensive mental health support for all youth.
Notes
Reference list included in attached document file.
Sigma Membership
Beta Epsilon
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Evidence-Based Nursing Implementation, School Nurses, School Health Providers, Mental Health, Student Mental Health, Adolescent Mental Health, Nurse Roles
Recommended Citation
Aguilar, Sahara; Thompson, Julie A.; Crawford, Linda; Teague, Malinda; and Kayle, Mariam, "Supporting Mental Health in Schools: Empowering the School Nurse" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 90.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/posters_2025/90
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-10
Supporting Mental Health in Schools: Empowering the School Nurse
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Youth mental health is a national public health priority, marked by high rates of depressive episodes and suicidal ideation, often without adequate treatment. School nurses are pivotal in addressing these challenges, providing essential prevention, early identification, intervention, and referral services. This project details the implementation of the evidence-based Mental Health Training Intervention for Health Providers in Schools (MH-TIPS), designed to enhance the knowledge, confidence, and preparedness of Southern California school nurses in identifying and referring students with mental health conditions. Participants completed a three-week in-service program, integrating self-paced MH-TIPS modules with web-based presentations and collaborative development of local resource maps. Outcomes, including mental health knowledge, self-reported confidence, preparedness, and training satisfaction, were comprehensively assessed at pre-implementation, immediately post-implementation, and three months post-implementation. Results (N=36) demonstrated significant and sustained improvements in mental health knowledge p< .001. Mean knowledge scores markedly increased from 43.4% (SD=13.04) pre-implementation to 84% (SD=13.22) post-implementation, with gains sustained at 86.5% (SD=13.75) at three months. Similarly, confidence (e.g., discussing concerns, p< .001) and preparedness (e.g., recognizing behavioral signs of distress p< .001) also exhibited significant improvements that were largely sustained across the follow-up period. Participants reported satisfaction with the training (mean 3.22, SD=0.59), and reported detecting a mean of approximately 12 (SD=5.81) student mental health concerns over three months, connecting nearly all students to services via established pathways (97.2%). Qualitative feedback consistently affirmed the training's relevance, flexible delivery, and facilitative guidance. This quality improvement project successfully substantiates that MH-TIPS significantly enhances school nurses' competencies in youth mental health. While effective in skill-building, persistent systemic barriers—such as limited resources, insufficient administrative support, and pervasive stigma—continue to impede optimal care delivery. Future initiatives must integrate the proven efficacy of such training with robust advocacy for increased resources and systemic policy changes to ensure comprehensive mental health support for all youth.
Description
Youth mental health (MH) is national priority, yet school nurses (SNs) report being unprepared to address MH. Implementation of Mental Health Training Intervention for Health Providers in Schools (MH-TIPS) was used to enhance MH knowledge, confidence, and preparedness among Southern California SNs.
Using a pre-post design, 36 SNs completed a three-week training self-paced modules, webinars, and resource mapping.