A Study into the School-Based Health Center

West Virginia children display some of the worst health outcomes in the country as they face several challenges, including poverty and the opioid epidemic. These children also face challenges in accessing high-quality health care due to rurality and a shortage of primary medical health professionals. A school-based health center (SBHC) is created at the community level and can help provide reliable health care through children’s schools. SBHC services include preventative and immediate care, behavioral health-care, dental care, and referrals to specialists. Although West Virginia’s SBHCs have provided care for over 20 years and to over 160 sites, we know little about their successes and challenges in addressing rural pediatric health care. The goal of this project is to address this gap using a collaborative and interdisciplinary work, as well as a rigorous model that will be informed by community members.

This community-based participatory research (CBPR) project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Interdisciplinary Research Leadership (IRL). More information about the project can be found on the IRL’s website.

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