Denise Seigart, chair of the undergraduate nursing program and master of nursing of populations program for the School of Nursing, presented at the 11th Biennial Conference of the Global Network of World Health Organization–Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery on July 27-29 in Glasgow, Scotland.
The purpose of the conference, ‘Strategic Conversations: The Nursing and Midwifery Contribution towards Global Health 2030’, was to bring together global healthcare leaders and practitioners to debate future directions and challenges for nursing and midwifery as 2030 approaches.
Conference conversation included participants from all over the world and  focused on ways those in the healthcare field can ensure healthy lives and promote well being at all ages. There was also much discussion and research related to universal health coverage, nursing midwifery, the healthcare worker shortage, and migration of healthcare workers to more affluent countries.
Seigart’s presentation, titled “International Comparisons of School Based Health Care”, discussed the implementation of school-based health care and nurse practitioners in schools globally. Seigart aimed to explore the variety of school health models in the US, Australia, and Canada with the intention of sharing best practices and exploring the needs of children and teachers. To gather her data, Seigart conducted in-depth case studies and 73 interviews with nurses, teachers, administrators, university faculty, parents, and other community leaders. She concluded that the benefits of school-based health care and providing comprehensive services through schools can include healthier children, better learning, healthier parents, and healthier communities. Unfortunately, according to Seigart, comprehensive school health services have not been adequately implemented in the US, Canada, or Australia.