Increasing the Self-Confidence of School Nurses to Provide Mental Health Care to Students.

Background: School nurses want and need continued education in student mental health care because of variability in their knowledge, skills, and confidence in assessing and responding to mental health concerns. To address this concern, two student mental health simulation scenarios were developed for a large school-based health program in Hawaii.

Method: School nurses ( = 51) participated in a 1-day skills training that included two scenarios with actors depicting students presenting with depression or anxiety.

Mental Health Interventions in Middle Schools: A 10-Year Review of Research.

Schools can play an important role in addressing growing concerns about adolescent mental health. Mental health of high school students has predominantly been the focus in literature with less emphasis on younger adolescents. This review identified articles published in the last decade that described evaluations of middle school-based mental health interventions and randomized participants to an intervention or control condition.

Disparities of Delayed Dental Visits and Severe Tooth Loss Among Older Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders in Hawai'i: A Cross-Sectional Study of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Data from 2012 to 2020.

Oral health is a major health concern in the US and globally, particularly among communities of color and low-income/low-education groups. General health disparities have been reported among Native Hawaiians (NHs) and Other Pacific Islanders (OPIs), although less is known about the specific racial/ethnic and socioeconomic trends that are relevant to oral health disparities for NHOPIs. We examined delayed dental visits and severe tooth loss among older NHOPI adults in relation to sociodemographic factors and community level disparities using five waves of data from the Hawai'i Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected between 2012 and 2020.

Development of Youth-Centered Health Messaging Posters for High School-Based Health Clinics in Hawaii.

Background: Youth may be reluctant to seek health care from school health providers due to feeling embarrassed or stigmatized in the health office environment or worried about their confidentiality. The purpose of this project was to create a set of youth-centered health posters that promote youth engagement with nursing staff and to standardize health messaging across high schools in Hawaii school-based clinics.

Methods: Two community advisory boards, 1 composed of 10 youth stakeholders (mean age 17 years) and the other of 7 adult stakeholders, informed poster development utilizing web-based discussion groups.

The Development and Implementation of a School-Based Dental Sealant Program for Hawaii Public Schools.

Background: School-based dental sealant programs are noted to increase sealant uptake among children, especially those from low-income families and those living in rural and underserved areas. However, nationally school-based dental sealant programs are substantially underutilized. This paper describes a partnership approach to a school-based dental sealant program for Title 1 public schools in Hawaii.

Increasing the Self-Confidence of School Nurses to Respond to Emergency Situations.

Background: School nurses have various degrees of experience responding to respiratory or cardiac emergencies, and most only receive Basic Life Support training every 2 years as required. The goal of the study was to assess school nurses' confidence and competence in emergency situations before and after engaging in emergency preparedness high-fidelity simulations.

Method: This mixed methods study used a pre-/postsimulation survey design for a group of school nurses ( = 40) in the State of Hawaii.

Effects of the COVID 19 Pandemic on School Nurses' Resiliency and Ability to Cope: A Mixed Methods Study in the State of Hawaii.

This mixed-method study examined school nurses' experiences during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic related to role change, psychological feelings, and coping/resiliency in the State of Hawaii. A total of 30 school nurses completed a Brief Resilience Coping Scale plus a series of open-ended questions in January 2022. On the coping scale, over 40% of participants scored high, 52% scored medium, and 7% scored a low resilient/coping level.

Addressing Health Disparities in LGBTQ Youth Through Professional Development of Middle School Staff.

Background: Significant health disparities exist for sexual minority youth (SMY). While supportive adults in schools have been shown to improve mental wellbeing and academic outcomes for students, most teachers do not receive training specific to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) students.

Methods: The project aimed at providing staff from a Hawaii middle school with "Safe Space" professional training to increase knowledge and comfort in supporting SMY.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hawai'i Nursing Workforce: A Cross-sectional Survey.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has placed extraordinary strain on health care systems. This has led to increased stress among health care workers, and nurses in particular, which has had a negative impact on their physical and psychosocial wellbeing. This is likely to negatively impact the nursing workforce at the state and national levels as the pandemic continues.

Undergraduate nursing students' COVID-19 vaccine intentions: A national survey.

Introduction: In December 2020, the first two COVID-19 vaccines were approved in the United States (U.S.) and recommended for distribution to front-line personnel, including nurses.

Assessing licensed nurses COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and intentions: a cross-sectional survey in the state of Hawaii.

Nurses are the largest single occupation of health care providers and at greatest risk for exposure to and acquisition of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In December 2020, nurses in Hawaii were recruited for an online survey that measured perceived risk/threat of COVID-19, vaccine attitudes, and perceived safety of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as level of intention: primary, secondary (i.e.

Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions on nursing education during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic: A national sample.

Background: In 2020, nursing educational programs were abruptly interrupted and largely moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To explore nursing students' perspectives about the effects of the pandemic on their education and intention to join the nursing workforce.

Methods: Undergraduate nursing students from 5 universities across 5 United States regions were invited to participate in an online survey to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data.

Benefits of Oral Health Education at Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Clinic Visits: Assessments of Parent's Oral Health Beliefs, Behaviors and Dental Access in O'ahu, Hawai'i.

Improving oral health outcomes in Hawai'i for children and families remains a high priority. Children in the state are leading the nation with the highest caries rates, while women before, during, and after pregnancy are failing to receive regular and necessary dental care resulting in poor health outcomes. To answer for this need, an educational intervention was conducted among families enrolled in the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children's Women, Infant, and Children program (WIC) in O'ahu.

The Association Between Risk Behaviors and Race/Ethnicity on Dental Visiting Among High School Students in Hawai'i: Hawai'i Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2013, 2015.

Risk behaviors are known to adversely affect health outcomes, but the relationship between youth risk behaviors and oral health remains unclear. The objective of this study is to examine the likelihood of dental visiting among Hawai'i public high school students by demographic factors and number of adverse risk behaviors. Aggregated 2013 and 2015 Hawai'i public high school Youth Risk and Behavior Survey (YRBS) data was analyzed from 10,720 students.

Assessment, Education, and Access: Kona Hawai'i WIC Oral Health Pilot Project.

The Kona WIC oral health pilot project was developed to assess the oral health beliefs and behaviors of parents of children and pregnant women at the Kona WIC site and to demonstrate the ease of providing oral health education to families in order to improve oral health behaviors. Data were collected from 50 families about the oral health behaviors and dental care of a total of 73 children, including 5 pregnant women, four of whom had a child enrolled in WIC and one pregnant woman without any previous children. Data revealed that 68% of children with teeth had been seen by a dentist within 6 to 12 months of the study visit.

Oral Health Knowledge and Practices of Pediatric and Family Nurse Practitioners.

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between oral health educational activities of NPs and their current oral health knowledge and practices.

Method: An online survey was distributed to practicing NPs and members of the NAPNAP organization.

Results: The study results from n = 147 NPs indicated an association between oral health CE attendance and knowledge on the age to initiate fluoride toothpaste, age for an initial dental visit, as well as NPs comfort in educating about oral hygiene, diets to reduce caries, bacterial transmission and caries development, in addition to the NPs comfort in performing a risk assessment, oral exam, and identifying decay and other oral pathology compared to NPs that had not attended a CE course.

The Association Between Socio-demographic Factors, Dental Problems, and Preterm Labor for Pregnant Women Residing in Hawai'i.

Periodontal disease during pregnancy has the potential to increase the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes including preterm labor (PTL), prematurity, and low birth weight (LBW). Despite professional recommendations on the importance and safety of dental assessments and treatments, the rate of dental care utilization during pregnancy remains low. The purpose of this study was to document the utilization of dental services and explore the relationships among socio-demographic factors, dental problems, and PTL in pregnant women residing in Hawai'i.

Predictors of Dental Cleaning Over a Two-year Time Period Around Pregnancy Among Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Race Subgroups in Hawai'i, 2009-2011.

Oral health disease is linked to several chronic diseases including adverse health outcomes around pregnancy. Optimizing a woman's oral health before, during, and after pregnancy can impact her health and the health of her children. Preventive, diagnostic, and restorative dental services can be done safely and effectively including during pregnancy.

Efficacy of oral health promotion in primary care practice during early childhood: creating positive changes in parent's oral health beliefs and behaviors.

Nurse practitioners frequently provide care to children suffering from poor oral health. Creative approaches to impacting dental disease are needed due to the current lack of traditional dental providers. This study investigated the effects of oral health promotion provided by primary care providers on parental oral health beliefs and behaviors.

Vulnerability related to oral health in early childhood: a concept analysis.

Aim: This article is a report of the analysis of the concept of vulnerability and its relationship to oral health in early childhood.

Background: Poor oral health is a continued problem for children worldwide. Vulnerability increases the probability of poor oral health outcomes.