School Nurses’ Perspectives of Bullying Involvement of Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions

Objective: Our primary objective was to understand bullying as it pertains to middle school students with chronic physical or behavioral health conditions by examining it through the lens of school nurses. A second objective was to understand issues pertaining to implementation of New York’s bullying prevention law with a focus on these same students. Methods: We employed a qualitative descriptive design with purposive sampling to explore perspectives of school nurses in New York State who worked in public middle schools. Using a semi-structured protocol, we conducted audio-recorded telephone interviews that were transcribed for subsequent thematic analysis. Results: Twelve nurses agreed to be interviewed. Results revealed participants’ understanding of bullying as related to students with chronic health conditions, especially those with behavioral health issues. Results also showed nurses’ limited understanding of New York’s bullying prevention law and missed opportunities for school nurses as champions of students with chronic health conditions who are bullied. Conclusions: Education and health care professionals should collaborate to disseminate information to school personnel about the risks of bullying for students with chronic health conditions and operationalize plans for prevention.