Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pennsylvania School Nurse Management of Student Immunization Requirements
School nurses play a significant role in the coordination of school-entry immunization requirements across the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the school landscape and introduced additional responsibilities to a school nurse's workload. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with <i>n</i> = 110 Pennsylvania school nurses to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school-entry immunization compliance management. Qualitative and quantitative data indicated increased difficulty obtaining school-entry immunization data (<i>n</i> = 52) and reduced school-level enforcement of immunization compliance (<i>n</i> = 30). We also observed increases in the percentage of students enrolled with an immunization exemption in Kindergarten, 7th, and 12th grades between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. However, few respondents (15%) offered school-located immunization clinics (SLIC) for school-entry-required immunizations. While the benefits of SLICs are documented, the capacity required to execute recommended actions may be limited among school nurses-particularly post-COVID-19 pandemic. School nurses may need additional support to address these gaps.
Authors
- Erika VanDyke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5681-364X)
- Alicia M. Hoke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9061-6738)
- Deepa L. Sekhar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5784-7216)
- Janine Strick
- Elle Mellott
Institutions
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Pennsylvania Department of Health (US)
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of School Nursing
- Published
- 2024-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405241280413
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- School Health and Nursing Education
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.87
Funders
- Children's Miracle Network Hospitals