Development of a consensus-based clinical practice guideline for school nursing (LL-SGF)

Project period: 2025–2026
AWMF registration number: 071-015

Background

School nurses play an important role in supporting the health and well-being of children and adolescents at school. The need for accessible health care and preventive services in schools is growing, particularly in response to the needs of students with chronic conditions and emerging health challenges such as overweight, behavioural conditions, and excessive media use.

Since 2017, school nursing programmes have been piloted in several German federal states and in a range of school settings. Some of these programmes have since been integrated into routine care. School nurses combine acute and ongoing care with prevention and health promotion. Their work ranges from first aid and supporting students with chronic health conditions to identifying health problems early and providing prevention and health promotion services.

The impact of school nursing depends on the setting in which it is delivered. School structures, staffing and resources, and effective collaboration across professions can all shape implementation and outcomes. A clinical practice guideline can help account for these factors and translate the available evidence into practice. Although such guidance exists internationally, Germany currently has no consensus-based clinical practice guideline for school nursing.

Objectives

The project aims to develop an evidence-informed and consensus-based clinical practice guideline to support high-quality school nursing in Germany. The guideline will provide recommendations for medical and nursing care, prevention, and health promotion in schools. Ultimately, it aims to strengthen school nursing practice and contribute to better health and greater health equity among children and adolescents.

Study design and methods

The guideline is developed according to the standards of the Association of Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF). An inter- and transdisciplinary guideline group defines its scope and key topics. A focused review of the literature then provides the evidence base for the recommendations.

The guideline group develops recommendations based on the available evidence and its multidisciplinary expertise. These are discussed and formally agreed upon in structured consensus conferences led by an independent moderator. The resulting draft undergoes external review and is circulated among the participating professional societies and organisations for comment. Once formally approved by all participating professional societies and organisations, the final guideline will be published on the AWMF website and made freely available.

Funding

  • Ministry of Education of Rhineland-Palatinate

Participating scientific societies and organisations

  • Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
  • Federal Student Conference
  • Federal Association for Prevention and Health Promotion
  • German Society for General Ambulatory Paediatrics
  • German Society for Epidemiology
  • German Educational Research Association
  • German Society of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
  • German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy
  • German Society for Public Health and Population Medicine
  • German Society for Public Health Services
  • German Society of Nursing Science
  • German Public Health Association
  • German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention
  • German Society for Social Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
  • German Nurses Association
  • German Federal Association for Speech and Language Therapy
  • German Teachers' Association
  • German Association of Occupational Therapists
  • German Network for Health Services Research
  • Healthy Cities Network
  • Bremen Public Health Department / State Association for Health and Academy of Social Medicine Lower Saxony and Bremen
  • Stuttgart Public Health Department
  • Hessian Ministry of Education, Culture and Opportunity               
  • Network for Children with Chronic Illnesses and Disabilities
  • Cooperative Network for School Social Work
  • Ministry of Education of Rhineland-Palatinate
  • German Association for Physiotherapy
  • Association for Education and Upbringing
  • Association for Special Needs Education

Contact details

Dr. Dorothée Malonga Makosi, MPH (guideline secretariat)
Maja Lenk, M.Sc. (research associate)

Dr. med. Michael Eichinger (principal investigator)

Email: sgf@uni-mainz.de