STUDENT ASTHMA STATUS AND SCHOOL ABSENCE

Abstract

SESSION TITLE: Obstructive Lung Disease Posters SESSION TYPE: Original Investigation Posters PRESENTED ON: October 18-21, 2020 PURPOSE: To examine the association of student asthma status and student absences for students enrolled in first through twelfth grade in an urban school district. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using 112,694 students demographic and absence records for the 2010–17 academic school years for students enrolled. The school district created the data for district and state mandatory reporting. The student asthma status was based upon the student record containing an asthma action plan (AAP) that was signed by a licensed healthcare provider. The student absence was based on the attendance record for each student each day of each year. The number of absence records for each student is the number of days a student was coded as absent. Characteristics of the student included gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and grade. The main outcome of this study was school absence and all descriptive data are stratified by asthma status. To determine any major differences by year, all data was analyzed separately. The absence data is reported by number of cumulative days of school absence in categories; the proportion of students having missed at least one day of school, and only among students who missed at least one day of school. RESULTS: Because the data is consistent across the study period only 2016–17 results are reported.The population was mostly boys (51.2%) of white race (71.6%), of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (58,7%) and from low income homes (50.1%). Asthma prevalence was 6.7% with higher proportions of asthma in boys (7.3%), among Blacks (10.1%), among students of non-Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (6.9%), and among students from low income homes (13.3%), among those who missed at least one day of school (7.1%) and especially among students who had missed 18 or more days (10.1%). Overall majority of students (90.0%) missed one day of school, with a median number of absent days of 6 days (p25=3, p75=10). Of students who missed at least one day, the proportion was higher in girls (90.2%), among American Indians or Alaskan Natives (91.2%), Of students who missed at least one day, the proportion of students with asthma (94.1%) was higher than those without asthma (89.7%). Students with asthma missed a median of seven days (p25=4; p75=13). Students with asthma missed a higher proportion of 18 or more days (13.6% vs.9.1%) compared to students without asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Although 90% of all students missed at least one day of school, a higher proportion of students were identified as having asthma and from a low income income homes, and missed more days of school. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Asthma disease management strategies are needed for students that are boys, Black, non-Hispanic/Latino and from low income homes to improve school absences. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Jose Betancourt, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by De De Gardner, source=Web Response