Date of Award

11-2008

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Mary Collins

Second Supervisor

David Rostetter

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to understand the relationship between SchoolBased Health Centers (SBHC) and academic outcomes such as attendance. A quasiexperimental research design was used to compare rates of early dismissal and "loss of seat time" for students who received SBHC and traditional school nursing services with students who received only traditional school nursing services. This study was a secondary data analysis of764 "walk in" visits during a three week period of time in two urban schools in western New York State. Both schools provided school nursing services, however; only one school offered the option to enroll in a SBHC. The results showed SBHCs significantly reduce the number of early school dismissals (p = .013) when compared to students who receive school nursing services alone and students not enrolled in a SBHC have three times more "loss of seat time" than students enrolled in a SBHC. Race, gender, age, poverty status, and presence of a pre-existing illness did not influence these findings. These findings suggest SBHCs have a direct impact on educational outcomes such as attendance. Additional findings include a greater number of early school dismissals for health reasons granted by non-health center personnel than by school health or SBHC personnel during the study time period. Recommendations for further research include replication of this study to increase confidence in the findings and using early dismissal and "loss of seat time" as indicators of attendance to measure other SBHC and school nursing health outcomes.

Download

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS