Do Schools That Screen for Body Mass Index Have Recommended Safeguards in Place?
Sarah A Sliwa, Nancy D Brener, Elizabeth A Lundeen and 1 others
PMID 29482425WHAT IT FOUND
Most schools that screened students' BMI lacked recommended safeguards: only 3.1% had all four assessed, and 56.5% had none or one.
Nurses should not assume training, equipment, follow-up resources, or parent referrals are in place.
Key findings
0140.7% of schools screened for BMI, and among those that screened, 56.5% had zero or one safeguard while 3.1% had four safeguards.
02Staff training or expertise measures were in place in 26.4% of schools, recommended equipment in 54.1%, follow-up resources in 33.4%, and parent notification or referrals in 44.4%.
03The only school characteristic associated with conducting BMI screening was having a full-time school nurse.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Data were self-reported by school respondents, and social desirability bias may exist. The SHPPS questions did not fully align with the four recommended safeguards. For equipment, the survey captured availability but not calibration procedures needed for accurate readings. For parent communication, the survey asked about notification when results indicated a potential problem, not whether all parents received information and follow-up actions. Results may not generalize to schools that conduct BMI screening in physical education classes through fitness assessments. Schools without a health services coordinator, or where the respondent did not hold that role, skipped some Safeguard 2 questions, reducing the sample for those items. The analysis is descriptive and reports school-level practices, not student health outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that BMI screening harmed students or that the low safeguard counts prove screening is ineffective. The paper reports self-reported school-level adoption of safeguards, not student outcomes or tested effects of screening.