School-Based Health Centers in the United States: Roots, Reality, and Potential.
BACKGROUND
Given the amount of time children and adolescents spend in school, these locations may be ideal for simultaneously supporting young people's health and academic achievement. School-based health centers (SBHCs) not only bring care to students in accessible and familiar locations, these centers also provide guidance for young people during a life stage when they are establishing lifelong health behavior habits.


METHODS
This article examines the literature exploring the impact of SBHCs from the perspective of multiple stakeholder groups including students, guardians, school personnel, community members, providers, hospital administrators, public health officials, and insurers.


RESULTS
Studies describe the positive effects of SBHCs on students' health and educational outcomes. SBHCs are generally associated with decreased health care disparities among students, accelerated treatment, and increased school attendance.


CONCLUSIONS
Additional research exploring strategies for optimizing SBHC's economic efficiency and tailoring SBHC services to meet the needs of vulnerable patient populations is essential. Investigation into the impacts of SBHCs on community stakeholders outside of the student population is also vital.
['Dunfee|Madeline N|MN|0000-0003-2134-8105']
D000076363:Academic Success D000293:Adolescent D006801:Humans D012572:School Health Services D012573:School Nursing D012574:Schools D013334:Students D014481:United States
school-based health centers child and adolescent health community health school health services school nursing services school-based clinic