Dataset Information

In-person schooling and associated COVID-19 risk in the United States over spring semester 2021.

ABSTRACT: Because of the importance of schools to childhood development, the relationship between in-person schooling and COVID-19 risk has been one of the most important questions of this pandemic. Previous work in the United States during winter 2020-2021 showed that in-person schooling carried some risk for household members and that mitigation measures reduced this risk. Schooling and the COVID-19 landscape changed radically over spring semester 2021. Here, we use data from a massive online survey to characterize changes in in-person schooling behavior and associated risks over that period. We find increases in in-person schooling and reductions in mitigations over time. In-person schooling is associated with increased reporting of COVID-19 outcomes even among vaccinated individuals (although the absolute risk among the vaccinated is greatly reduced). Vaccinated teachers working outside the home were less likely to report COVID-19-related outcomes than unvaccinated teachers working exclusively from home. Adequate mitigation measures appear to eliminate the excess risk associated with in-person schooling.

SUBMITTER: Wiens KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9020776 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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In-person schooling and associated COVID-19 risk in the United States over spring semester 2021.

Wiens Kirsten E KE Smith Claire P CP Badillo-Goicoechea Elena E Grantz Kyra H KH Grabowski M Kate MK Azman Andrew S AS Stuart Elizabeth A EA Lessler Justin J

Science advances 20220420 16

Because of the importance of schools to childhood development, the relationship between in-person schooling and COVID-19 risk has been one of the most important questions of this pandemic. Previous work in the United States during winter 2020-2021 showed that in-person schooling carried some risk for household members and that mitigation measures reduced this risk. Schooling and the COVID-19 landscape changed radically over spring semester 2021. Here, we use data from a massive online survey to ...[more]

PMID: 35442740

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Project description:IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous states in the United States instituted measures to close schools or shift them to virtual platforms. Understanding parents' preferences for sending their children back to school, and their experiences with distance learning is critical for informing school reopening guidelines. This study characterizes parents' plans to return their children to school, and examines the challenges associated with school closures during the 2020-2021 academic year.MethodsA national-level cross-sectional online survey was conducted in September 2020. Focusing on a subset of 510 respondents, who were parents of school-aged children, we examined variations in parents' plans for their children to return to school by their demographic and family characteristics, and challenges they anticipated during the school-year using multivariable logistic regressions.ResultsFifty percent of respondents (n = 249) said that they would send their children back to school, 18% (n = 92) stated it would depend on what the district plans for school reopening, and 32% (n = 160) would not send their children back to school. No demographic characteristics were significantly associated with parents plans to not return their children to school. Overall, parents reported high-level of access to digital technology to support their child's learning needs (84%). However, those who reported challenges with distance learning due to a lack of childcare were less likely to not return their children to school (aOR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.64). Parents who reported requiring supervision after school had higher odds of having plans to not return their children to school (aOR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.79). Parents viewed COVID-19 vaccines and face-masks important for resuming in-person classes.DiscussionAbout one-third of parents objected to their children returning to school despite facing challenges with distance learning. Besides access to vaccines and face-masks, our findings highlight the need to better equip parents to support remote learning, and childcare.

Dataset Information

In-person schooling and associated COVID-19 risk in the United States over spring semester 2021.

Publications

In-person schooling and associated COVID-19 risk in the United States over spring semester 2021.

Similar Datasets

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