Nakia C. Best

Picture of Nakia C. Best
Assistant Professor
Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing
PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nursing
Post Masters, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Health Informatics
MSN, UNC Greensboro, Nursing Education
BSN, Winston-Salem State University, Nursing
Email: nbest@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
854 Health Sciences Rd
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
school nurses, school health, student outcomes, data analytics
Academic Distinctions
UNC-Chapel Hill Frank Porter Graham Graduate and Professional Honor Society
Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, Jonas III Nurse Leader Scholar
J&J-American Association of Colleges of Nursing Minority Faculty Scholar
Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Scholar
Research Abstract
I leverage data to advocate for children and adolescents attending K-12 schools to have equitable, daily access to a full-time certified/credentialed school nurse.
Awards and Honors
UCI Research Associate's Athalie R. Clarke Research Achievement Award in Nursing, 2023
NIH-NICHD Loan Repayment Program, 2022-2024
Journal of School Nursing (JOSN)/Sage Publication Scholarly Writing Award, 2019
Short Biography
Nakia C. Best, PhD, RN received her doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at University of California, Irvine. Dr. Best is an advocate for the importance of having a school nurse in every K-12 school. She leverages data to provide valuable insights on how school nurses and the services they provide improve student health and education outcomes and health equity. Dr. Best's dissertation, titled The Impact of School Nurses on Student Health and Education Outcomes, was a culmination of school nurse reported data on school nurse health services in North Carolina. Current projects, funded by the National Association of School Nurses and NIH/NCATS UCLA CTSI include: 1) using school nurse reported data to investigate the impact of factors on medication administration accuracy and nursing case management, and 2) understanding the impact of COVID-19 among school nurses and school nurse health services.
Publications
Best, N. C., Donahue, E., Agran, P. F., Munk, K., Rochelle, N. F., & Billimek, J. (2023). Exploration of California school nurse perspectives on the impact of COVID-19. Public Health Nursing, 40(3), 394–403.
Best, N., & McCabe, E. (2023). Learning from the Past and Moving Forward: Implementing School Nursing Research Priorities. Journal of School Nursing, 39(1), 3-5. doi: 10.1177/10598405221143495.
McCabe, E., & Best, N. C. (2022). The significance of social development support in schools: The critical role of school nurses. NASN School Nurse, accepted-online first. doi: 10.1177/1942602X221128227
Best, N. C. Nichols, A.O., Pierre-Louis, B., & **Hernandez, J. (2022). Exploration of factors associated with reported medication administration errors in North Carolina public school districts. Journal of School Nursing Online First doi: 10.1177/10598405221127453
Best, N. C., Nichols, A.O., Oppewal, S., Pierre-Louis, B., Waller, A.E., Zomorodi, M., & Travers D. (2021). The impact of school nurse health services and school nurse-to-student ratios in North Carolina public schools, 2011-2016. Journal of School Health. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1111/josh.13025
Hamilton, J. B., Best, N. C., Barney, T. A., Worth, V. C., & Phillips, N. R. (2021). Using spirituality to cope with COVID-19: The experiences of African American breast cancer survivors. Journal of Cancer Education, 1-7. doi: 10.1007/s13187-021-01974-8
Best, N. C., Nichols, A.O., Oppewal, S., Pierre-Louis, B., Waller, A.E., Zomorodi, M., & Travers D. An Appraisal of School Nurse Health Services and Programs in North Carolina Public Schools, 2006-2016. (2020). Journal of School Nursing. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1177/1059840519899439
Miller, T.N., Matthie, N., Best, N. C., Price, M. A. & Hamilton, J. B. (2020). Intergenerational Influences on faith-based strategies used in response to racial discrimination among young African American Adults. Journal of the National Medical Association.
Best, N. C., Oppewal, S., & Travers, D. (2018). Response to letter to the editor for “Exploring school nurse interventions and health and education outcomes: An integrative review.” Journal of School Nursing, 34, 343. doi:10.1177/1059840518791230
Best, N. C., Oppewal, S., & Travers, D. (2018). Exploring school nurse interventions and health and education outcomes: An integrative review. Journal of School Nursing, 34, 14-27. doi:10.1177/1059840517745359
Hamilton, J.B., Best, N. C., Wells, J.S., & Worthy, V.C. (2018). Making sense of loss: Perspectives of African American family members who have experienced the death of a close family member. Palliative and Supportive Care, 16, 662-668. doi:10.1017/S1478951517000955
Hamilton, J. B., Stewart, J. M., Thompson, K., Alverez, C., Best, N. C., Amoah, K., & Carlton-LaNey, I. B. (2017). Young African American adults’ use of religious songs to manage stressful life events. Journal of Religion and Health, 56, 329-344. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0288-6
Hamilton, J. B., Worthy, V. C., & Moore, A. D., Best, N. C., Stewart, J. M. & Song, M. K. (2017). Messages of hope: Helping family members to overcome fears and fatalistic attitudes toward cancer. Journal of Cancer Education, 32, 190-197. doi: 10.1007/s13187-015-0895-z
Grants
2019-2021 "School Nurse Factors Associated with Medication Administration Accuracy and School Nurse Case Management for Students with Chronic Health Conditions" funded by National Association for School Nurses. (Role: PI)
2020-2021 "The Impact of COVID-19 on School Nurses and School Health Services" funded by University of California, Irvine Institute for Clinical and Translational Science Campus-Community Research Incubator Grant ($15,000 total costs). Role: PI
2022-2023 "COVID-19 and the transformation of school nurses and school health services: Revisioning School Nursing Services" funded by NIH Community Engagement Alliance/UCLA CTSI CEAL/Stop COVID-19 CA 21-312-0217571-66106L ($150,000 total costs) Role: PI
Professional Societies
American Nurses Association
American Public Health Association
California School Nurses Organization
Orange County School Nurses Organization
National Association of School Nurses
Last updated
12/20/2023