What this article is about
In brief
In a survey of 93 school nurses, most respondents viewed anxiety as their students’ leading mental health concern. Most also reported using neither a formal screening tool nor an intervention protocol, and most wanted additional anxiety-intervention training.
For nursing students
Study summary
Anxiety can be accompanied by physical complaints, which means students experiencing anxiety may come into contact with a school nurse. Muggeo and Ginsburg surveyed 93 school nurses about student anxiety, current practices, and training needs.
Most respondents considered anxiety the most prevalent mental health concern among their students. Most also said they did not use a formal anxiety-screening tool or intervention protocol, while most wanted more training in anxiety intervention. Together, these results describe a mismatch between the concern nurses reported seeing and the structured preparation they reported having.
The findings support questions about school-nursing education and professional development. They do not establish that a particular screening measure or intervention should be adopted. The study did not compare tools, provide an intervention, or measure changes in student anxiety.
The results describe nurses’ reports rather than independently observed practice. The abstract does not give the sampling frame, response rate, participant characteristics, geographic distribution, exact percentages, or school levels. Readers should not assume the responses characterize every school-nursing setting.
The useful appraisal distinction is between recognizing a service gap and demonstrating an effective solution. This survey supports the former. Evaluation of training, screening, or intervention requires additional research.
Original publication
Source abstract and study details
Read the source abstract
Anxiety disorders are common in youth. Because somatic complaints are a hallmark feature of anxiety, these students frequently visit their school nurse, creating an ideal opportunity for nurses to identify and assist them. In an effort to better understand current practices, we surveyed a large sample (N = 93) of school nurses. Results indicated that the majority of nurses perceived anxiety as the most prevalent mental health issue in their students. Moreover, the majority of nurses reported that they did not use any formal screening tool or intervention protocol and stated wanting to expand their training in anxiety intervention. These data suggest that school nurses identify anxiety as a top problem but do not receive adequate training to address it. Data from this survey may be used to plan how best to fill gaps in nurse training and practices that can enhance nurses' capacity to optimize outcomes for anxious students.
Reviewed findings
Main findings
- Among 93 surveyed school nurses, a majority viewed anxiety as the most prevalent mental health concern among their students.
- A majority reported using neither a formal anxiety-screening tool nor an intervention protocol.
- A majority wanted further training in anxiety intervention; the authors proposed using the survey to plan how training and practice gaps might be addressed.
For teaching and learning
Education implications
- Education planners can use the mismatch between recognized anxiety concerns and structured preparation to examine existing school-nurse training.
- The paper identifies somatic complaints as one reason school nurses may encounter students with anxiety, but it does not validate a diagnostic process.
- Selecting a screening tool, intervention, or referral pathway requires evidence beyond this survey, including feasibility, safety, and student outcomes.
For educators
Teaching and appraisal notes
This brief report distinguishes perceived prevalence, self-reported practice, and intervention effectiveness. The 93 respondents reported that anxiety was a leading student mental health concern, that formal screening and intervention procedures were generally absent, and that additional training was wanted. Those observations support investigation of a training and practice gap, but do not show whether any response improves student outcomes.
An evidence table can separate what the survey reports, what it omits, what decision-makers might investigate, and what evidence would be required before implementation. Important absences include the sampling frame, response rate, respondent characteristics, geographic scope, school levels, and exact percentages behind each majority result.
Related intervention literature may be discussed as separate research, but its methods or outcomes must not be attributed to this survey.
Critical appraisal
Limitations
- The survey reports nurses’ perceptions and stated practices rather than observed practice or student outcomes.
- The abstract does not report the sampling frame, response rate, respondent characteristics, geographic distribution, or school levels.
- Results are expressed as responses from a majority without exact percentages, limiting assessment of each pattern.
Classroom use
Discussion Questions
- Which conclusions are supported by nurses’ self-reports, and which require observation or student-outcome data?
- What evidence is needed before selecting an anxiety-screening process for a school health setting?
- How do missing sampling and response details affect transferability?
- How could a follow-up study test whether training changes practice or student outcomes?
Source-based questions
Frequently asked questions
What practice gap did the survey identify?
Most respondents viewed anxiety as a leading student concern, but most reported no formal screening tool or intervention protocol and wanted more training.
Did the study test an anxiety-screening tool or intervention?
No. It surveyed nurses about perceptions, practices, and training needs; it did not compare tools or measure outcomes.