School-Based Mandatory Masking Policies and Absenteeism in Ottawa, Canada, in 2022.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Thampi N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10372699 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
School-Based Mandatory Masking Policies and Absenteeism in Ottawa, Canada, in 2022.
Thampi Nisha N Schwartz Kevin L KL Science Michelle M Brown Kevin A KA
JAMA network open 20230703 7
Similar Datasets
Project description:ObjectivesThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, masking has been a widely used mitigation practice in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) school districts to limit within-school transmission. Prior studies attempting to quantify the impact of masking have assessed total cases within schools; however, the metric that more optimally defines effectiveness of mitigation practices is within-school transmission, or secondary cases. We estimated the impact of various masking practices on secondary transmission in a cohort of K-12 schools.MethodsWe performed a multistate, prospective, observational, open cohort study from July 26, 2021 to December 13, 2021. Districts reported mitigation practices and weekly infection data. Districts that were able to perform contact tracing and adjudicate primary and secondary infections were eligible for inclusion. To estimate the impact of masking on secondary transmission, we used a quasi-Poisson regression model.ResultsA total of 1 112 899 students and 157 069 staff attended 61 K-12 districts across 9 states that met inclusion criteria. The districts reported 40 601 primary and 3085 secondary infections. Six districts had optional masking policies, 9 had partial masking policies, and 46 had universal masking. In unadjusted analysis, districts that optionally masked throughout the study period had 3.6 times the rate of secondary transmission as universally masked districts; and for every 100 community-acquired cases, universally masked districts had 7.3 predicted secondary infections, whereas optionally masked districts had 26.4.ConclusionsSecondary transmission across the cohort was modest (<10% of total infections) and universal masking was associated with reduced secondary transmission compared with optional masking.
| S-EPMC9647584 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Chronic absenteeism is associated with poor health and educational outcomes. School nurses have great potential to address the health and educational needs that contribute to absenteeism. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with school nurses, we characterize their current role in reducing absenteeism and identify barriers 3 that limit their capacity to meet this goal, organized by the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice. Interviewees (n = 23) identified actions perceived to reduce absenteeism aligned with domains of care coordination, leadership, quality improvement, and community and public health. Barriers perceived to limit the capacity of school nurses to address absenteeism were identified within these domains and ranged from student- and family-level to federal-level barriers. Specific healthcare system-level barriers included insufficient communication with community-based healthcare teams and the need for coordinated approaches across health and education sectors to address absenteeism. Strategic opportunities exist to address barriers to comprehensive school nursing practice and reduce absenteeism.
| S-EPMC9062998 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionAsthma is a leading cause of chronic disease-related school absenteeism. Few data exist on how information on absenteeism might be used to identify children for interventions to improve asthma control. This study investigated how asthma-related absenteeism was associated with asthma control, exacerbations, and associated modifiable risk factors using a sample of children from 35 states and the District of Columbia.MethodsThe Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Child Asthma Call-back Survey is a random-digit dial survey designed to assess the health and experiences of children aged 0-17 years with asthma. During 2014-2015, multivariate analyses were conducted using 2006-2010 data to compare children with and without asthma-related absenteeism with respect to clinical, environmental, and financial measures. These analyses controlled for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.ResultsCompared with children without asthma-related absenteeism, children who missed any school because of asthma were more likely to have not well controlled or very poorly controlled asthma (prevalence ratio=1.50; 95% CI=1.34, 1.69) and visit an emergency department or urgent care center for asthma (prevalence ratio=3.27; 95% CI=2.44, 4.38). Mold in the home and cost as a barrier to asthma-related health care were also significantly associated with asthma-related absenteeism.ConclusionsMissing any school because of asthma is associated with suboptimal asthma control, urgent or emergent asthma-related healthcare utilization, mold in the home, and financial barriers to asthma-related health care. Further understanding of asthma-related absenteeism could establish how to most effectively use absenteeism information as a health status indicator.
| S-EPMC4914465 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesAlcohol-related morbidity and mortality are significant public health issues. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence and trends over time of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related morbidity and mortality; and public attitudes of alcohol use impacts on families and the community in Ottawa, Canada.MethodsPrevalence (2013-2014) and trends (2000-2001 to 2013-2014) of alcohol use were obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Data on paramedic responses (2015), emergency department (ED) visits (2013-2015), hospitalizations (2013-2015) and deaths (2007-2011) were used to quantify the acute and chronic health effects of alcohol in Ottawa. Qualitative data were obtained from the "Have Your Say" alcohol survey, an online survey of public attitudes on alcohol conducted in 2016.ResultsIn 2013-2014, an estimated 595,300 (83%) Ottawa adults 19 years and older drank alcohol, 42% reported binge drinking in the past year. Heavy drinking increased from 15% in 2000-2001 to 20% in 2013-2014. In 2015, the Ottawa Paramedic Service responded to 2,060 calls directly attributable to alcohol. Between 2013 and 2015, there were an average of 6,100 ED visits and 1,270 hospitalizations per year due to alcohol. Annually, alcohol use results in at least 140 deaths in Ottawa. Men have higher rates of alcohol-attributable paramedic responses, ED visits, hospitalizations and deaths than women, and young adults have higher rates of alcohol-attributable paramedic responses. Qualitative data of public attitudes indicate that alcohol misuse has greater repercussions not only on those who drink, but also on the family and community.ConclusionsResults highlight the need for healthy public policy intended to encourage a culture of drinking in moderation in Ottawa to support lower risk alcohol use, particularly among men and young adults.
| S-EPMC5619783 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesSchool-based daily physical activity (DPA) policies represent a promising intervention for increasing physical activity levels among children. Between 2005 and 2010, five Canadian provinces adopted and implemented DPA policies. This national case study explored facilitators and challenges to developing, adopting and implementing DPA policies from the perspective of key stakeholders ('policy-influencers') in these five provinces.MethodsDevelopment, adoption and implementation of DPA policies at the provincial level was the phenomenon of interest, with each province constituting a distinct case. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 purposively selected policy-influencers across the five case provinces. Cases were first analyzed separately, and then concurrently in a cross-case comparison. Qualitative content analysis was used to code interviews and develop themes.ResultsFour themes related to the development, adoption, and implementation of DPA policies emerged: existing resources and capacity for policy change; top-down policy development/adoption and bottom-up implementation; political will and windows of opportunity; and, ideology and policy change. Each of these themes encompassed facilitators and challenges related to policy processes surrounding development, adoption and implementation of DPA policies.ConclusionThese findings can inform development of future health-related polices in schools. Stakeholders can, for instance, remain attuned to the opening of political windows and capitalize on them as an opportunity to advocate for policy change or create communities of practice to enhance coordination among policy stakeholders. Future studies that explore why other jurisdictions have failed to adopt DPA policies might yield novel insights regarding leverage points to support widespread diffusion of DPA policies.
| S-EPMC7327280 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although the incidence and mortality rates associated with tuberculosis (TB) have been decreasing in many countries, TB remains a major public health concern. Obligatory facial masking and reduced health-care capacity because of COVID-19 may substantially influence TB transmission and care. The Global Tuberculosis Report 2021 published by the World Health Organization indicated a TB rebound at the end of 2020, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored this rebound phenomenon in Taiwan by investigating whether TB incidence and mortality are affected by COVID-19 because of their common route of transmission. In addition, we investigated whether the incidence of TB varies across regions with different incidences of COVID-19. Data (2010-2021) regarding annual new cases of TB and multidrug-resistant TB were collected from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. TB incidence and mortality were assessed in Taiwan's seven administrative regions. Over the last decade, TB incidence decreased continually, even during 2020 and 2021, the years coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, TB incidence remained high in regions with low COVID-19 incidence. However, the overall decreasing trends of TB incidence and mortality remained unchanged during the pandemic. Facial masking and social distancing may prevent COVID-19 transmission but exhibit limited efficacy in reducing TB transmission. Thus, during health-related policymaking, policymakers must consider TB rebound, even in the post-COVID-19 era.
| S-EPMC9936458 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC7813489 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite increasing reliance on licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to provide health services in schools, we do not know whether this is a cost-effective prevention strategy against student absenteeism. Therefore, we evaluated the costs and effectiveness of an LPN-based school nursing program for improving attendance and chronic absenteeism at a large, urban school district in the southeastern USA. We first identified a matched set of 46 elementary schools (23 nurse, 23 no-nurse) by using an optimal multilevel matching algorithm based on student- and school-level characteristics. We then conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis on the matched set, using the ingredients method to estimate societal costs and multilevel regression to estimate effects. The results indicated that despite substantial incremental costs of $68,228 per school, the presence of a full-time LPN was associated with at best negligible improvements, and at worst slight disimprovements, in attendance and chronic absenteeism. We recommend a careful review of the theory of change for LPN-based school nursing programs to clarify the specific inputs and activities that are expected to lead to improved student outcomes. Education agencies should develop explicit assignment, training, monitoring, and auditing plans to ensure LPNs are equitably distributed and that their activities are aligned with the theory of change. Education agencies should also explore whether expanded Medicaid billing can reduce their share of the nursing cost burden.
| S-EPMC9670058 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundGiven the potential impact school-based daily physical activity (DPA) policies can have on the health outcomes of Canadian children, it is surprising that such little research has examined the implementation and student-level effectiveness of these policies, and that even less have used theory to understand the barriers and facilitators affecting uptake of this policy by teachers. This review descriptively summarizes the implementation status, approaches used to implement DPA, and the effectiveness of DPA at increasing the physical activity of children at school. In addition, the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used to explore the barriers and facilitators to DPA implementation.MethodsA scoping review of English articles using ERIC, CINAHL, and Google Scholar (2005 to 2016) was conducted. Only studies that evaluated the implementation and/or student-level effectiveness of DPA policies in Canadian elementary schools were included. Only articles that examined DPA implementation barriers and facilitators by teachers, principals, and/or administration were eligible for the TDF analysis. Data on study characteristics and major findings regarding implementation status, implementation approach used, and impact on student's physical activity were extracted and were summarized descriptively, including study quality indicators. Two coders extracted and categorized implementation barriers and facilitators into TDF domains.ResultsThe search resulted in 66 articles being retrieved and 38 being excluded for not meeting the eligibility criteria, leaving 15 eligible for review (10 of which examined barriers and facilitators to implementation from DPA deliverers' perspective). Eleven of 15 studies examined the Ontario DPA policy, and 2 studies were from both Alberta and British Columbia. Thirteen studies examined implementation, and only two examined effectiveness. DPA implementation status, approaches to delivery, and effectiveness on student's PA levels are inconsistent across the three provinces. A total of 203 barriers/facilitators were extracted across the ten implementation studies, most of which related to the environmental context and resources (ECR; n = 86; 37.4%), beliefs about consequences (n = 41; 17.8%), and social influences (n = 36; 15.7%) TDF domains.ConclusionsWith the limited research examining the DPA policy in Canada, the current status and approaches used to implement DPA and the student-level effectiveness is not well understood; however, this review revealed that DPA deliverers often report many barriers to DPA implementation. Most importantly, in conducting a TDF-based analysis of the barriers/facilitators affecting implementation, this review provides a theoretical basis by which researchers and policy-makers can design interventions to better target these problems in the future.RegistrationA protocol for this review was not registered.
| S-EPMC5369225 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The study aimed to deepen our understanding of the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) of adolescents and the influence of menstruation on school absenteeism. We employed a school-based cross-sectional design in five Junior High Schools combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 250 schoolgirls, and key informant interviews were conducted with a teacher in each of the five schools. We performed logistic regression analysis to provide crude and adjusted effect estimates and 95% confidence intervals. About fifty percent of the girls were engaged in good MHM, and approximately forty percent of them reported menstrual-related school absenteeism. We did not find evidence (p = 0.858) of association between MHM and menstrual-related school absenteeism. However, after controlling for the effect of other factors, we found evidence that the age of the schoolgirls, their father's occupation, and the receipt of allowance for menstrual care products were associated with MHM. When compared to those aged 17 to 19, those aged 10 to 13 years had 0.72 (95% CI 0.21, 2.44) decreased odds of poor MHM while those aged 14 to 16 had almost 3-fold increased odds (95% CI 1.49, 4.55) of poor MHM. The adolescents whose fathers were farmers had 0.42 (95% CI 0.21, 0.82) decreased odds of poor MHM while those whose fathers were unemployed had 0.24 (95% CI 0.10, 0.61) decreased odds of poor MHM. We found that girls who did not receive regular allowance for menstrual care products had nearly 2-fold increased odds (95% CI 1.06, 3.09) of poor MHM compared to those who received allowance for menstrual care products. Menstrual pain (82.2%), fear of staining clothing (70.3%), fear of being teased (70.3%), nonavailability of sanitary pad (63.4%), and lack of private place to manage period at school (60.4%) were the common reasons cited for menstrual-related school absenteeism.
| S-EPMC7204135 | biostudies-literature