Camille Brown

Background: School nurses work in interprofessional teams to identify and care for youth involved in commercial sex trading. However, the school nurse role in the care of these youth is not well documented despite evidence suggesting youth who trade sex are attending U.S. public schools. Study Aim: To describe licensed school nurses' (LSNs) perspectives on interventions implemented to support youth who trade sex in Minnesota. Methods: Twenty-one LSNs participated in an online focus group discussing their role in the support of youth who trade sex. Thematic analysis was used to identify and synthesize details about the interventions described. Results: Four themes were identified: independent nursing interventions, collaborative interventions, barriers to intervention, and suggested support for improved intervention. Conclusions and Implications: School nurses rely on developing positive relationships with students, school staff, and community partners to intervene with youth who trade sex. Such relationships can facilitate identification of sexually exploited youth and may promote trauma-informed care when youth seek care from forensic nurses. Collaboration between forensic and school nurses is a promising yet underutilized school-based intervention for youth who trade sex.

Regular attendance is integral for students’ academic success; it also affects adolescents’ physical and mental health. Very few studies consider (a) differences between partial- and full-day absences regarding chronic absenteeism (CA; missing school ≥15 days in an academic year); or (b) roles of school nurses in addressing student absenteeism. This study describes school nurses’ perceptions of factors related to CA and differences between partial- and full-day absences by analyzing qualitative data from six focus groups with 21 Midwestern school nurses. Four themes emerged: Absenteeism at the intersection of family and health ; Absenteeism at the intersection of family and school ; Absenteeism at the intersection of family and ecological systems ; and School nurse roles in supporting chronically absent students . Findings highlight the importance of school nurses by describing their role in identifying students who are at risk for CA, allowing for effective assessment and intervention with students before patterns of CA become habitual.

Introduction: The recent Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health that has overruled Roe v. Wade has resulted in severe limitations of abortion access throughout the United States. Telehealth has been put forth as one solution for improving access for reproductive health care, including abortion services. Telehealth has demonstrated safety and efficacy in several health care disciplines; however, its use for abortion care and services has not been explored and synthesized.Methods: As part of a larger review on telehealth and general reproductive health, our team identified a moderate amount of literature on telehealth and abortion care. We conducted a rapid review searching for eligible studies in MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL. Information was extracted from each included study to explore 4 key areas of inquiry: (1) clinical effectiveness, (2) patient and provider experiences, (3) barriers and facilitators, and (4) the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic.Results: Twenty‐five studies on the use of telehealth for providing abortion services published between 2011 and 2022 were included. Telehealth for medical abortion increased during the COVID‐19 pandemic and was found to be safe and clinically effective, with high patient satisfaction. Overall, telehealth improved access and removed barriers for patients including lack of transportation. Legal restrictions in certain states were cited as the primary barriers. Studies contained limited information on the perspectives and experiences of health care providers and diverse patient populations.Discussion: Abortion care via telehealth is safe and effective with high satisfaction and may also remove barriers to care including transportation and fear. Removing restrictions on telehealth for the provision of abortion services may further improve access to care and promote greater health equity.

This study describes transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth perceptions of parental messages regarding sexuality and sexual/romantic relationships and how those messages impact feelings and decisions about their sexual health. Eight in-depth, semi-structured interviews (mean = 66 minutes) with TGD young people (16-23 years) were included in this qualitative analysis. Illustrated by participant quotes, four themes are discussed: (1) parent’s sexual values as context and a critical testing ground, (2) LGBTQ sexuality, (3) youths’ futures through cisnormative and heteronormative lenses, and (4) impact of parental messaging on youth’s sexual health. Implications include working with families to de-center cisgender perspectives in messaging.

CONTEXT: Transgender and gender‐diverse youth experience significant health disparities across numerous domains of health, including sexual health. Among general populations, parent connectedness has been strongly associated with youth sexual health.METHODS: The relationships between parent connectedness and sexual health indicators were investigated among 2,168 transgender and gender‐diverse youth who participated in the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey, a statewide population‐based survey of ninth‐ and 11th‐grade students. Multivariate logistic regression models, stratified by sex assigned at birth, tested associations between parent connectedness—youth's perceptions of parent caring and parent–youth communication—and eight sexual health indicators: ever having had sex, having multiple sexual partners in the past year, pregnancy involvement, substance use at last sex, partner communication about STI prevention, partner communication about pregnancy prevention, condom use at last sex and pregnancy prevention methods at last sex.RESULTS: The level of parent connectedness was inversely associated with ever having had sex, regardless of sex assigned at birth (odds ratios, 0.6–0.8). Although level of connectedness was inversely associated with having multiple sexual partners in the past year and pregnancy involvement among transgender and gender‐diverse youth assigned male at birth (0.6–0.7), these relationships were nonsignificant among transgender and gender‐diverse youth assigned female at birth. Further differences in associations between parent connectedness and four sexual risk–reduction behaviors were found between youth assigned male at birth and those assigned female.CONCLUSIONS: As with other populations, parent connectedness promotes sexual health among transgender and gender‐diverse youth and may provide a point of intervention.

Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth experience significant health and well-being disparities compared to their cisgender peers. However, disparities experienced at a population level might be mitigated by individual-level factors such as strong family relationships. Discrete aspects of strong family relationships may impact the health and well-being of TGD youth differently. To date, no systematic review known to us has explored the state of the science regarding the association between family relationships and the health and well-being of TGD adolescents and young adults. As such, our review aimed to (1) compile and present the scientific literature addressing the connection between family relationships and the health and well-being of TGD youth in those families; (2) sort results utilizing the Family Strengths Model; and (3) assess the strength of the literature with evidence-based appraisal tools. Sixteen articles met eligibility criteria (10 quantitative and 6 qualitative). These articles discussed family relationship qualities influencing health and well-being outcomes, including mental health, homelessness, sexual health, and substance use. Three of six qualities of strong families—coping ability, appreciation and affection, and positive communication—were represented in the literature. The risk for bias and study strength appraisals suggest that the available literature is moderately strong overall. Certain characteristics of strong families (commitment, enjoyable time spent together, and spiritual well-being) were underrepresented in the literature. Future research should explore these gaps to ensure that health care and community service providers can deliver the most effective support and care for TGD youth and their families.

Background and purpose: The World Health Organization has developed standards for youth-friendly health services to support adolescents and encourage health care utilization among youth. Necessary building blocks for youth-friendly care include strong interpersonal relationships between youth and health care providers. Nurse practitioners (NPs) may be particularly well positioned to form these relationships. This study explored a core aspect for building youth–provider relationships. The study examined how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents discussed use of personal pronouns (e.g., he, she, they, ze) in relation to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people. Methods: A secondary qualitative analysis of 66 in-depth interviews with LGBTQ youth from across Minnesota, Massachusetts, and British Columbia, Canada was conducted. Results were sorted into four main themes describing different aspects of personal pronoun use as related to TGD individuals. Conclusions: Stories and experiences shared by participants illustrate how to assess which pronouns to use for a given person, how to use pronouns in different contexts, why respecting pronouns is important to TGD people, and flexibility as an integral component of the learning process when it comes to appropriate pronoun use. Implications for practice: Understanding how youth discuss personal pronouns could improve practice with TGD youth. Each of the four themes can be applied to clinical encounters to ensure culturally sensitive care. Practice recommendations include asking adolescents what pronouns they prefer clinic staff to use on intake forms and having NPs and clinic staff provide their own pronouns to patients in introductions.