School-based Health Centers Can Boost Students’ Wellness, Learning, Attendance

ITASCA, Ill. — Children and teens who are healthy do better in school, leading more communities to establish school-based health centers for comprehensive care, such as help with chronic conditions like asthma, routine immunizations, or a mental-health check.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), in an updated policy statement, “School-based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice,” notes that the number of such centers has more than doubled since 1998. The statement, published in the October 2021 Pediatrics, provides an overview of evidence on how the centers improve access to healthcare services for students by decreasing financial, geographic, age, and cultural barriers.

“For some students, these health centers will serve as their primary source of medical care, especially in underserved communities and when families may lack insurance,” said Dr. Chris Kjolhede, lead author of the policy statement, written by the AAP Council on School Health. “We’ve seen from the pandemic that children are struggling on all levels — physically, mentally, and in academic learning. These centers help fill a need and ease some of the disparities among those most vulnerable.”

Typically, school-based health centers provide health-maintenance supervision or well-child care, immunizations, and laboratory services. Some centers may provide a wider range of preventive and psychosocial services, including hearing and vision screening, vision services, reproductive health services, mental-health services, social services, health education, and oral-health services. Mental-health services may include screening, counseling, and substance-use-disorder services.

There are 2,584 school-based health centers that serve students and communities in 48 of 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to the National School-based Health Care Census Report. More centers have opened in rural and suburban areas than in urban settings since 2008.

“We encourage families to take advantage of the school-based health centers where they are offered,” said Dr. April Lee, co-author of the statement. “They can save families time and money and keep children in school.”