Effect of Sociodemographics, Health-Related Problems, and Family Structure on Chronic Absenteeism Among Children.
Eunjung Lim, James Davis, So Yung Choi and 1 others
PMID 30843228WHAT IT FOUND
Children with asthma, behavioral problems, or who felt less healthy than other children were more likely to miss 15 or more school days yearly.
Low income, public insurance, age 14 or older, and smaller family size were also linked to higher absenteeism.
Key findings
01Overall, 2.2% of children were chronically absent.
02In adjusted analysis, asthma medication use was associated with higher odds compared with no asthma: odds 4.05 times for inhaler plus preventive medication, 2.14 times for inhaler only, and 1.69 times for neither.
03Children with behavioral problems (CIS score≥15) had odds 2.41 times those of children without behavioral problems, and children who felt less healthy than other children had odds 4.44 times those of children who did not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Absence was based on parental report, so it may not accurately reflect the true number of missed days. The outcome counted only school days missed due to illness or injury, so other reasons for absence, such as bullying or truancy, may be missing. About 9% of annual records were excluded because information from at least one interview round was missing. The study shows association, not cause. It did not test any treatment or school nurse intervention. Some race/ethnicity groups were combined because of small subgroup sizes. The final model did not include all variables, so associations for excluded variables are not adjusted in that model.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types include NIH extramural research support. No author conflict-of-interest statement is provided in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that asthma medication causes absenteeism or that nurse-delivered medication improves attendance. This observational study reports associations and does not test interventions.