Expert school nurses' experiences of reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

Background: There is limited information about expert school nurses' experiences regarding the reopening of schools in the school setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the views and experiences of reopening schools among expert school nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted semi -structured interviews with five focus groups of 24 school nurses. A grounded theory methodology was used to analyze emergent concepts, categories, and themes. Discussion: We identified five themes related to the experiences of expert school nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: unprepared response system, fighting alone, centering the response system, redefining roles, and together against. Conclusion: Despite the high workload of school nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the expert school nurses led to clarification and expansion of the role of the school nurse role, and highlighted the relationships among school staff who were essential participants of the school health team during the pandemic. Practice implications: It is imperative to shift the perception that school nurses are health professionals who play key managerial roles with collaboration within and beyond the school. (c) 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.