Public Perceptions of School Nurses: Results From a Recent Public Opinion Poll

Abstract

The National Association of School Nurses sees pressing concerns facing school health including school nurse workforce issues, needs for sustainable funding, and a lack of robust data to demonstrate the value of school nurses. NASN commissioned a national poll of over 2,200 adults, to determine public awareness of and support for funding of school nurses in U.S. schools. Raising awareness and promoting the importance of the role of school nurses can foster informed public policies, bipartisan legislative support, and robust funding for school health. Key takeaways from this public opinion poll are as follows: adults hold a favorable view of school nurses, school nurses are widely seen as playing an important role in schools and student well-being, there is strong support for ensuring school nurses are in every school and providing the funding to do so, support for school nursing is a nonpartisan issue, and if parents had a choice in school selection, 79% would choose to send their children to schools that employed school nurses. These survey results arm school nurses, school nurse leaders, and state/national associations with critically important data that can be used to advocate for school nurses.