The Role of an RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation (Mental Health Access in the Public School System)

The Role of an RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation (Mental Health Access in the Public School System)

My evaluation topic for this discussion is mental health access in Virginia and Maryland public schools. It is imperative for the well-being of students, and this kind of intervention becomes a pillar of the struggle with the growing mental health concerns among teenagers and children of school age today (Baghian et al., 2019). A more nurturing and welcoming school atmosphere can be achieved by taking various approaches and determining those that work and those that still need to be improved.

The problem of mental health care access in public high schools is affected by different social determinants such as socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, location, and cultural affiliation. These factors can be a source of inequity in mental health services, as societies’ unprivileged members experience more difficulties accessing mental health care (Majcherek et al., 2022). In addition to the examination of this element, the assessment focuses on whether the services offered in public schools are widely available and accessible. These factors include the availability of qualified staff or therapists, the provision of support groups, and the level of access for the students in need. By comprehending whether mental health services provided to students are accessible enough, one can more efficiently recognize the flaws in the service and provide a fair chance to students as far as access is concerned (Devkota et al., 2021).

Also, the evaluation will consider the mental health programs’ outcome on students’ wellness and learning success. Accordingly, researching mental health outcomes, incidences of absenteeism from school due to psychological problems, and academic engagement and attainment of students who accessed mental health support are equally important (Baghian et al., 2019). Subsequently, taking such indicators will help evaluate their effectiveness and motivation for the continuous advancement of mental health support in public schools.

References

Baghian, N., Sari, A. A., Shati, M., Fallahzadeh, H., & Ahmadi, B. (2019). Evaluation of students’ mental and social health promotion educational programs: A systematic review. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 8, 258. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_416_19

Devkota, G., Basnet, P., Thapa, B., & Subedi, M. (2021). Factors affecting utilization of mental health services from Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities of the western hilly district of Nepal. PLOS ONE, 16(4), e0250694. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250694

Majcherek, D., Kowalski, A. M., & Lewandowska, M. S. (2022). Lifestyle, demographic and socio-economic determinants of mental health disorders of employees in the European countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 11913. https://doi.org/10.3390/

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To Prepare:

In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making.
Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
Select an existing healthcare program or policy evaluation or choose one of interest to you.
My topic is Mental health access in public schools.

The Role of an RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation (Mental Health Access in the Public School System)

Review community, state, or federal policy evaluation and reflect on the criteria used to measure the effectiveness of the program or policy described.
for the states of VA and MD

Post an evaluation topic and a brief description of the evaluation. Discuss how social determinants impact this issue.

This is a discussion post to address mental health in the public school system for Virginia and Maryland.