Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2025 Aug 19. doi: 10.1007/s00103-025-04104-7. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
School nurses have an important contribution to make in promoting and protecting the health of children and adolescents in schools. They are specialized healthcare professionals with additional qualifications who act as a link between the school and the healthcare system. Their responsibilities include providing medical care for chronically ill children and adolescents, early detection of mental health problems, talking with parents, providing health-related information and support in accessing health and welfare services, and filling the role of a trusted confidant.Healthcare in German schools is still inadequate. The extent to which school nurses can close this supply gap was examined in selected pilot projects. For this purpose, school nurses were deployed in mainstream schools and their impact on students’ health outcomes was evaluated. Although results from these projects are promising, there is still no nationwide implementation of school nurses in the German school system.This article provides an overview of the current status of school nurses deployed in German schools. The presented study results show that model projects have been carried out in eight federal states to date, some of which will be continued. The article highlights the central role of school nurses in meeting the diverse health-related needs of children and adolescents and presents international evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of their use. Finally, it discusses why school nurses have not yet been established across the board despite their potential and how they can be successfully integrated into the German school system.
PMID:40828248 | DOI:10.1007/s00103-025-04104-7
