scholarly journals Staff-Pupil SARS-CoV-2 Infection Pathways in Schools: A Population Level Linked Data Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A Thompson ◽  
Hoda Abbasizanjani ◽  
Richard Fry ◽  
Emily Marchant ◽  
Lucy Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Linked Data ◽  
National Level ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
School Staff ◽  
List Type ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Subsequent Increase ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Background Better understanding of the role that children and school staff play in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to guide policy development on controlling infection whilst minimising disruption to children’s education and wellbeing. Methods Our national e-cohort (n=500,779) study used anonymised linked data for pupils, staff and associated households linked via educational settings. We estimated the risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection for staff and pupils over the period August - December 2020, dependent on measures of recent exposure to known cases linked to their educational settings. Results The total number of cases in a school was not associated with a subsequent increase in the risk of testing positive (Staff OR per case 0.92, 95%CI 0.85, 1.00; Pupils OR per case 0.98, 95%CI 0.93, 1.02). Amongst pupils, the number of recent cases within the same year group was significantly associated with subsequent increased risk of testing positive (OR per case 1.12, 95%CI 1.08 – 1.15). These effects were adjusted for a range of demographic covariates, and in particular any known cases within the same household, which had the strongest association with testing positive (Staff OR 39.86, 95%CI 35.01, 45.38, pupil OR 9.39, 95%CI 8.94 – 9.88). Conclusions In a national school cohort, the odds of staff testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection were not significantly increased in the 14-day period after case detection in the school. However, pupils were found to be at increased risk, following cases appearing within their own year group, where most of their contacts occur. Strong mitigation measures over the whole of the study period may have reduced wider spread within the school environment. What is known Evidence of the role schools play in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is limited Higher positivity rates are observed in school staff compared to pupils Lack of evidence on transmission pathways transmission into and within schools What this study adds First UK national level study of transmission between pupils and staff in a school environment during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Schools opening September-December 2020 was not associated with an increased subsequent risk of testing positive in staff Pupils were found to be at increased risk of testing positive, following cases appearing within their own year group

scholarly journals Staff–pupil SARS-CoV-2 infection pathways in schools in Wales: a population-level linked data approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e001049
Author(s):  
Daniel A Thompson ◽  
Hoda Abbasizanjani ◽  
Richard Fry ◽  
Emily Marchant ◽  
Lucy Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Linked Data ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Subsequent Increase ◽  
Infection Pathways ◽  
Demographic Covariates

BackgroundBetter understanding of the role that children and school staff play in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to guide policy development on controlling infection while minimising disruption to children’s education and well-being.MethodsOur national e-cohort (n=464531) study used anonymised linked data for pupils, staff and associated households linked via educational settings in Wales. We estimated the odds of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection for staff and pupils over the period August– December 2020, dependent on measures of recent exposure to known cases linked to their educational settings.ResultsThe total number of cases in a school was not associated with a subsequent increase in the odds of testing positive (staff OR per case: 0.92, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.00; pupil OR per case: 0.98, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.02). Among pupils, the number of recent cases within the same year group was significantly associated with subsequent increased odds of testing positive (OR per case: 1.12, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.15). These effects were adjusted for a range of demographic covariates, and in particular any known cases within the same household, which had the strongest association with testing positive (staff OR: 39.86, 95% CI 35.01 to 45.38; pupil OR: 9.39, 95% CI 8.94 to 9.88).ConclusionsIn a national school cohort, the odds of staff testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection were not significantly increased in the 14-day period after case detection in the school. However, pupils were found to be at increased odds, following cases appearing within their own year group, where most of their contacts occur. Strong mitigation measures over the whole of the study period may have reduced wider spread within the school environment.

scholarly journals Safer primary healthcare facilities are needed to protect healthcare workers and maintain essential services: lessons learned from a multicountry COVID-19 emergency response initiative

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e005833
Author(s):  
Leena N Patel ◽  
Samantha Kozikott ◽  
Rodrigue Ilboudo ◽  
Moreen Kamateeka ◽  
Mohammed Lamorde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Facility ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
National Level ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Infection Prevention And Control ◽  
Health Facility Level ◽  
Ensure Patient Safety ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Facility Level

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of infection from SARS-CoV-2 and other disease pathogens, which take a disproportionate toll on HCWs, with substantial cost to health systems. Improved infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes can protect HCWs, especially in resource-limited settings where the health workforce is scarcest, and ensure patient safety and continuity of essential health services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we collaborated with ministries of health and development partners to implement an emergency initiative for HCWs at the primary health facility level in 22 African countries. Between April 2020 and January 2021, the initiative trained 42 058 front-line HCWs from 8444 health facilities, supported longitudinal supervision and monitoring visits guided by a standardised monitoring tool, and provided resources including personal protective equipment (PPE). We documented significant short-term improvements in IPC performance, but gaps remain. Suspected HCW infections peaked at 41.5% among HCWs screened at monitored facilities in July 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic in Africa. Disease-specific emergency responses are not the optimal approach. Comprehensive, sustainable IPC programmes are needed. IPC needs to be incorporated into all HCW training programmes and combined with supportive supervision and mentorship. Strengthened data systems on IPC are needed to guide improvements at the health facility level and to inform policy development at the national level, along with investments in infrastructure and sustainable supplies of PPE. Multimodal strategies to improve IPC are critical to make health facilities safer and to protect HCWs and the communities they serve.

scholarly journals Household COVID-19 risk and in-person schooling

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. eabh2939
Author(s):  
Justin Lessler ◽  
M. Kate Grabowski ◽  
Kyra H. Grantz ◽  
Elena Badillo-Goicoechea ◽  
C. Jessica E. Metcalf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Office Work ◽  
School Based ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Extra Curricular Activities ◽  
Low Levels

In-person schooling has proved contentious and difficult to study throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Data from a massive online survey in the United States indicates an increased risk of COVID-19-related outcomes among respondents living with a child attending school in-person. School-based mitigation measures are associated with significant reductions in risk, particularly daily symptoms screens, teacher masking, and closure of extra-curricular activities. A positive association between in-person schooling and COVID-19 outcomes persists at low levels of mitigation, but when seven or more mitigation measures are reported, a significant relationship is no longer observed. Among teachers, working outside the home was associated with an increase in COVID-19-related outcomes, but this association is similar to other occupations (e.g., healthcare, office work). While in-person schooling is associated with household COVID-19 risk, this risk can likely be controlled with properly implemented school-based mitigation measures.

Child Marriage and Intimate Partner Violence: An Examination of Individual, Community, and National Factors

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110426
Author(s):  
Brittany E. Hayes ◽  
Michelle E. Protas
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
National Level ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Early Marriage ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Age At Marriage ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Nationally Representative

Despite being a human rights violation, child marriage still takes place across the globe. Prior scholarship has shown early marriage to be associated with an increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). Drawing on data from the nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys—conducted in developing and transitional nations where rates of child marriage tend to be higher—the current study provides a cross-national examination of individual-, community-, and national-level predictors of child marriage and their association with physical and emotional IPV. The sample of ever married women includes 281,674 respondents across 46 developing and transitional nations. Findings reveal the prevalence of child marriage was largely consistent with worldwide estimates. Over half of the sample (59.97%) were over the age of 18 when they married and about 1 in 10 women were married at age 14 or younger. A later age at marriage, measured continuously, was associated with lower odds of physical and emotional IPV. When considering the 18 and over cutoff traditionally used to operationalize child marriage, the odds of physical and emotional IPV were lower for women who married over the age of 18 than women who were 14 and younger when they married. However, there was a confounding effect when considering age at marriage as 18 and over when community-level predictors were not included in the model estimating physical abuse. This underscores the need to consider the nested nature of respondents’ experiences. Further, national legislation that protects against child marriage was not associated with risk of physical or emotional IPV. However, population size increased the odds of physical IPV and lowered the odds of emotional IPV. Such findings can be interpreted in light of opportunity theory and provide direction for prevention and intervention programming.

scholarly journals Building inclusive health innovation systems: lessons from India

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (suppl 2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Abrol ◽  
T. Sundararaman ◽  
Harilal Madhavan ◽  
K. J. Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
National Level ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Pharmaceutical Products ◽  
Innovation Systems ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Health Innovation ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Delivery Of Medical Care

Abstract: This article presents an overview of the changes that are taking place within the public and private health innovation systems in India including delivery of medical care, pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and Indian traditional medicine. The nature of the flaws that exist in the health innovation system is pinpointed. The response by the government, the health, technology and medical institutions, and the evolving industry is addressed on a national level. The article also discusses how the alignment of policies and institutions was developed within the scope of national health innovation systems, and how the government and the industry are dealing with the challenges to integrate health system, industry, and social policy development processes.

Democracy and new ideas in Latin American social policy: the origins of conditional cash transfers in Brazil and Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Velázquez Leyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
National Level ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfers ◽  
Policy Paradigm ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Main Instrument

ABSTRACTConditional cash transfers (CCTs) have become the main instrument to combat poverty in Latin America, they have been exported around the globe and are one of the most popular social policies of the twenty-first century. CCTs deliver cash transfers to poor families with conditionalities like attendance to school and health appointments. This article aims to explain the creation of CCTs. The research applies arguments from theories of social policy development to explain the formulation of the first two CCTs introduced in Brazil at the sub-national level and in Mexico at the national level during the mid-1990s. Findings show that the original formulation of CCTs can be explained by the emergence of a new policy paradigm based on a conceptualisation of the nature of poverty as lack of human capital among poor population, enabled by critical junctures created by the transitions to democratic regimes.

FC08-05 - Work-related threats and violence and incident use of psychotropics

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1856-1856
Author(s):  
I.E.H. Madsen ◽  
H. Burr ◽  
R. Rugulies
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Power ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
List Type ◽  
Questionnaire Response ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Adjusted Risk ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Violence In The Workplace ◽  
Reported Data

IntroductionThe consequences of work-related violence and threats for clinically significant mental health problems are unclear: One study showed associations with hospitalisation for depressive and stress-related disorders, but a different study found no association with use of antidepressants. This null-finding, however, could be due to lack of statistical power.ObjectivesRe-examining the relation between exposure to work-related threats and violence in a large sample of Danish employees (n = 15527).AimsAssessing whether employees reporting exposure to work-related threats or violence are more likely to start treatment with psychotropics.MethodsWe synthesized three Danish studies with self-reported data on exposure to work-related threats or violence within the past 12 months and linked it with purchases of psychotropic medications through registry-data. After excluding 1750 respondents who had used psychotropic medication previous to 12 months before questionnaire-response, the final study population was 15527 employees. We examined four mutually exclusive outcomes:1)antidepressants (N06a),2)anxiolytics (N05b),3)antidepressants and anxiolytics,4)hypnotics only (N05c).Using four separate logistic regressions we adjusted risk estimates for confounding by gender, age, cohabitation, education, and income.ResultsPreliminary analyses show increased risk for treatment with antidepressants (OR = 1.46; 95%CI: 1.15–1.86) and antidepressants combined with anxiolytics (OR = 1.79; 95%CI:1.16–2.76), but not anxiolytics (OR = 1.04; 95%CI: 0.74-1.45) or hypnotics only (OR = 1.08; 95%CI: 0.77–1.50). Final results will be available for the conference.ConclusionsIn this large sample of Danish employees, exposure to threats or violence in the workplace is associated with treatment with antidepressants, and antidepressants combined with anxiolytics, but not anxiolytics or hypnotics only.

Implementing a national case-management training program in Portugal

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 555-555
Author(s):  
P. Mateus ◽  
M. Xavier ◽  
J. Caldas-Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Case Management ◽  
Training Program ◽  
National Level ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
List Type ◽  
Program Content

IntroductionIn Portugal, a new National Mental Health Plan has been launched with the following objectives: equal access to care, decentralisation of mental health services and integration of mental health services in the general health services. In order to change the operational model for mental health teams, a case-management training program has been launched by the Ministry of Health.ObjectivesThis study aims to evaluate: a)the feasibility of implementing the program on a national level,b)the quality of the training program andc)the satisfaction of the trainees.MethodsThe study was carried out at 36 public mental health services in mainland Portugal. The professionals attended a case management course (SAMHSA procedures), in which they were trained by means of guidelines, demonstrative audios, scenarios and role-playing. The assessment was conducted with a questionnaire addressing logistics, program content, acquisition of skills, usefulness and overall satisfaction.Results135 professionals from the whole country have been involved. The trainees’ acquisition of competences was found rather satisfactory. Results of the training were impressive regarding satisfaction and motivation of the trainees (69% were highly satisfied). Dimensions such as organization (35% highly satisfied, 52% satisfied), program content (41% highly satisfied, 43% satisfied), practical skills gaining (35% highly satisfied, 58% satisfied) and usefulness (58% highly satisfied, 31% satisfied) were also very well rated.ConclusionsOf upmost relevance, it was possible to implement a case management training program at a national level, with no particular difficulties. The impact of courses on trainees was overall impressive.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document