Reducing School Absenteeism - Promoting Health

Abstract

Education is crucial to social and economic development and has a profound impact on population health. The health benefits of education accrue at the individual level, the community level and at the national level. School absenteeism is a major concern, which has long-term consequences on the individual level and societal level. We present initial findings from a project which addresses the challenge of school absenteeism through an improved use of data and proactive interventions. In doing so we aim to contribute towards reaching several of the global goals in Agenda 2030. The school system in Gothenburg, Sweden, has been assigned the task of raising school attendance levels as a means of achieving academic goals and improving students' health. The present project is carried out in Angered, one of ten urban districts in Gothenburg. Angered faces great challenges regarding segregation and social exclusion, why the question of school absenteeism is an especially important issue in this area. The district administration Angered joined forces with several partners from academia and commercial actors to address this important issue. The intention is to proactively promote school attendance, instead of only taking measures when the students are already absent. One of the solutions is a digital tool that uses data related to student attendance, and, using machine learning, predicts presence and absence of any individual student. We are also exploring opportunities to develop a process of collecting questionnaire data from students using a mobile-app, which can also improve the predictions of the machine learning system. The mobile-app will also provide data that increases the understanding of the needs of students, and make schools better equipped to tailor successful interventions. We also plan for a digital action toolbox, that includes suggestions for actions that schools can use to increase the school attendance. Furthermore, the analysis of the data can provide us with better understanding of health needs of young people and a better understanding of school environment.