New research highlights success of school-based health centers
Patients visit three times a year on average, showing they consider these clinics a trusted source of care.
The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health has published a comprehensive new Data xChange report illustrating the impact of School Based Health Centers (SBHC) on students, families and community members in L.A. Unified’s disadvantaged areas. During the COVID pandemic, L.A. Unified’s full-service Wellness Centers have proven essential for providing access to preventive health and mental health care services where little to no resources existed before.
In the 2020-2021 school year, the number of clinics participating in the L.A. Trust Data xChange grew from 11 to 20. In the past six years, Wellness Centers and other LAUSD School-Based Health Centers have provided care to 188,666 unique patients through 615,031 visits. Patients visit three times a year on average, showing they consider these clinics a trusted source of care.
Wellness Centers are specifically designed to serve not just students, but their families and community members, too. These clinics serve a diverse population and are deeply committed to health equity —they turn away no one. Latinx patients made up the largest proportion of patients over the past six years. This reflects LAUSD’s student population —73% of students enrolled in LAUSD schools in the 2020-21 school year were Latinx. Wellness Centers provide intergenerational care to families and community members, while SBHCs primarily serve students ages 5-19.
Coping with COVID-19
Nine clinics remained opened throughout the pandemic and have served 32,000 patients with a total of 104,000 visits. From March 2020 through December 2021, these nine clinics had over 4,000 COVID diagnoses and administered more than 6,000 COVID vaccines within their service network. St. John’s Community Health administered over 91,000 COVID vaccines outside their service network through their five school-based clinics. A UCLA analysis of our data showed that Wellness Centers continued to play a critical role during the pandemic-related school closures. Despite school closures, the proportion of visits for mental health and well-child exams increased, showing that clinics remained a critical access point for preventive and mental health care.
Read more about our 2022 Data xChange SBHC Impact Report
Attendance and Health
The Data xChange provided an in-depth analysis of attendance and student health data showing that visiting a school-based health center was associated with an increase in school attendance. On average, the proportion of full days present in school was declining for students before their first school-based health center visit. After the first visit to a school-based health center, the proportion of full days present increased over time. Students’ attendance increased by 5.4 school days per year following any type of visit to a school-based health center. Students’ attendance increased by 7 school days per year after a school-based health center visit for a mental health diagnosis.
Future insights
There are nearly 2,600 SBHCs in the nation and approximately 50 SBHCs (not including Well Being Centers) in the L.A. Unified School District. The near-term goal of the Data xChange is to provide a comprehensive view of all SBHCs across the district. The long-term goal of the L.A. Trust Data xChange is to be a model for SBHC data in the nation, enabling better research on the impact of student health on academic achievement —and better policy decisions at the local, state and federal levels.
As the first of its kind in the country, Data xChange can improve health and academic outcomes for all Los Angeles public school students. It is the first in the nation that combines student health and academic data on a regular basis. The Data xChange will add graduation rates and data about children experiencing homelessness, foster youth and English language learners beginning next year. This new data will provide health equity insights into special populations of youth who may lack access to care outside of the school setting.
The L.A. Trust recently received funds to help expand the scope of the Data xChange. Executive Director Maryjane Puffer shared that the organization, “has received significant funding for the next two years from the W.M Keck Foundation, Cedars-Sinai and Kaiser Permanente to expand our Data xChange to include mental health data and other remaining L.A Unified school-based health centers.”
About the Data xChange
The Data xChange is guided by an Expert Advisory Council that includes representatives from the following organizations: Children Now, Community Clinic Association of LA County, Community Coalition, Community Health Councils, First 5 Los Angeles, Inner City Struggle, Kaiser Permanente, L.A. Care Health Plan, LAUSD Student health & Human Services, LAUSD Office of Data & Accountability, Prevention Institute, The Children’s Health Partnership and The Advancement Project.