School Community Assessment

It is imperative that school nurses understand how social determinants of health (SDOH) impact the well-being of students and school communities.

Visit the CDC's website About Social Determinants of Health. Read the home page and explore the links.

Most people, including healthcare professionals (yes, and nurses) assume that the major variables of a person’s health are health behaviors and health care utilization. But that is only half (50%) of the story. The contexts in which people live their health, love, learn, work, and play is the other side of the equation. Social inequalities lead to health inequities (disparate circumstances) and health disparities (disparate outcomes).

Here are the steps your intern will follow for this assignment.

1) First examine the interactive Illinois School Report Card (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/) for your school district and its different schools. Open each item in the L hand vertical menu. Click on the graphics for more detailed information.

Also explore your school district website for information about the student body and teaching staff. How is this information displayed. What more did you learn? What would you have liked to learn that isn't there?

Then take a deep dive into the data for the school where your internship is based. How does your school compare with state averages? What are the trends? What jumps out at you? Are the demographics and achievement measures what you expected? What is the achievement gap? Do the teacher demographics represent the student population? What are the implications of the data for your school nursing practice?

2) Next drive, walk, or bike throughout the school community in which your internship is based. Use a sloppy copy of the Community Assessment Table (attached) to record your observations. If it is safe to do so, visit a grocery store or local market, restaurant, retail or service store, cultural center or event. Try to see the community from its residents' eyes: this is where they live, work, learn, love, and play.

Carefully assess the social determinants of health that impact the health and well-being of your students and the school community at large. Not only assess the built environment and resources– carefully observe the people, the cultures, activities, and social amenities. Try to assess at different times of day, during the week and on the weekend.

3) To complete the assignment, type up Community Assessment Table attached below. The "Considerations" in the second column are just that - things to observe and think about when doing your assessment. You might have to search the Internet for some of the data.

• Please provide links or citations in your table for the data you use.

• Please include any other important findings you observe.

• Keep in mind that social determinants of health do not exist in silos: they are dynamic and overlapping.

• Some of the SDOH overlap somewhat. Don’t worry about separating your observations neatly into one component or the other - but try not to be redundant. The point is for you to synthesize the assessment data to understand the community as multi-dimensional ecological unit.

Lastly, you will reflect on what you have learned and what means for your school nursing practice.

This assignment is graded on a 100 pt. scale and is worth 15% of you course grade. You may take credit for up to 6 practicum hours as long as you document competency to an appropriate standard/indicator(s) in your clinical log. Upload your completed assignment by clicking on the underlined title above.