Nakia C. Best

Assistant Professor
Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing

school nurses, school health, injury prevention

nakiabestphd.com/

PubMed Bibliography

Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
UCI Newkirk Center for Science & Society, Faculty Fellow
UNC-Chapel Hill Frank Porter Graham Graduate and Professional Honor Society
Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety
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

I leverage data to advocate for children and adolescents attending K-12 schools to have equitable, daily access to a full-time school nurse.

UCI Research Associate's Athalie R. Clarke Research Achievement Award in Nursing
NIH-NICHD Loan Repayment Program
Journal of School Nursing (JOSN)/Sage Publication Scholarly Writing Award

I'm a nursing research scientist and transformational leader. I advance child and adolescent health through outcomes research, health informatics, and practice to policy translation. As an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, I forge cross sector partnerships that improve access, safety, and equity across school and population health.

My research focuses on real world evidence and measurable outcomes. I co-developed California’s School Health Services Annual Survey to standardize statewide data and I have led NIH, state agency, and foundation funded studies on school nurse impact on student outcomes, pediatric cardiometabolic risk, and pediatric injury prevention. I design and lead mixed methods, longitudinal, and program evaluation studies with public health and clinical partners, and I translate findings into policy and practice tools that leaders can use. My work has informed national position statements of the National Association of School Nurses and has been published across nursing, medicine, and public health.

I teach nursing informatics, quality improvement, and leadership courses, across undergraduate and graduate programs and include concise, practice focused modules on responsible use of AI in healthcare. With a background in cardiothoracic intensive care and nursing education, I partner with health systems, public health agencies, and universities to design, implement, and evaluate scalable nurse led models of care that improve outcomes for children and families.

Best, N. C., Thomas, C. S., Pierre-Louis, B., Wu, A., Chang, A., Bevens, W., & Powell, S. B. (2025). Burnout and moral distress among school nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A brief report. Frontiers in Public Health. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1750354

Best, N. C., Thomas, C., Mosely-Williams, F., Chang, A., & Nielsen, T. (2024). Back to school: Updates on routine vaccines for children and adolescents. The Nurse Practitioner Journal, 49 (9), 29-35. doi: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000000000000224

Thomas, C., Nielsen, T., & Best, N. C. (2024). A rapid review of mental health training programs for school nurses. The Journal of School Nursing, 41(1), 158-171. doi:10.1177/10598405241277798

Agran, P. F., Winn, D. G., Saadat, S., Bhalla, J. R., Greco, V. N., Best, N. C., & Lotfipour, S. (2024). Drowning among children 1-4 years of age in California, 2017-2021. (2024). Western Journal of Medicine, 25(5), 838-844. doi.org/10.5811/westjem.20356

Bevens, W, Stoeckl, S, Schueller, S, Jeongmi, K, Cha, B. S., Chwa, C, Stadnick, N. A., Best, N. C., & Sorkin D. H. (2024). Loneliness, online learning and student outcomes in college students living with disabilities: Results from the National College Health Assessment Spring 2022. Frontiers Psychology, 15, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1408837

McCabe, E. M., Best, N. C., Bennett, S., Johnson, E., & Jameson, B. E. (2024). Expanding child health screenings through school-community partnerships. The American Journal of Nursing, 124(9), 53–57.
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0001050820.21339.31

Hamilton, J. B., Abiri, A., Nicolas, C., Grant, E., Best, N. C. (2024). Black Appalachia’s oldest old: Untold stories of experienced racism and coping with religious practices/beliefs. The Gerontolgist, 64(5), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad143

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

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. (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. (Role: Sub-award PI)

2023-2024 "Child Drowning Prevention Data Collection Tool Pilot Study" funded by Picerne Family Foundation. (Role: Co-I)

2025-2026 "Improving Drowning Data Collection Quality" funded by California Department of Public Health, CA Drowning Prevention Pilot Program. (Role: Co-I)

American Nurses Association

American Academy of Pediatrics

California School Nurses Organization

Orange County School Nurses Organization

National Association of School Nurses

American Academy of Nursing

American Heart Association

Irvine Children, Youth and Family Advisory Committee
City of Irvine 2024—2025

Vice-Chair, Health & Wellness Advisory Committee
City of Irvine 2025

Advisory Board Member
School Nurses of California Foundation 2022—2024

Board Member
School Nurses of California Foundation 2024

Editorial Board
Clinical Nursing Research

Editorial Panel Member
Journal of School Nursing 2020—2024

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6589

Last updated
02/16/2026