scholarly journals The impact of the COVID-19 school closure on adolescents' use of mental healthcare services in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena B Svaleryd ◽  
Evelina Bjorkegren ◽  
Jonas Vlachos
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Behavioral Disorder ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

Background School closures used to contain the COVID-19 pandemic may have negative impacts on students' mental health but credible evidence is scarce. Sweden moved upper-secondary students to remote learning but, as the only country in the OECD, kept schools at lower levers open throughout the pandemic. Methods Using nationwide register data, we estimate the difference in the use of mental healthcare services between upper- and lower-secondary students during the pandemic, and relate this to the same group difference prior to the pandemic. For the main analysis, this difference-in-difference approach is applied to the period April-June 2020 when upper-secondary schools were fully closed. We also study the periods July-December 2020 when upper-secondary schools were largely open, and January-March 2021 when they were partially closed. We study the impact on all contacts with hospitals and specialist psychiatric care due to mental and behavioral disorder, as well as prescriptions for antidepressants, insomnia, and ADHD drugs. Findings Compared with expected rates, the use of mental healthcare services among upper-secondary students fell by -3.71 [CI95 -5.52 to -1.91] cases per 1000 during April-June 2020, largely due to a reduction in depression and anxiety-related diagnoses (-1.49; CI95 [-2.36 to -0.63]) and prescriptions (-1.80; CI95 [-2.93 to -0.68]). This reduction in the use of mental healthcare services corresponds to a 4.36% CI95 [-6.47 to -2.25]) decrease compared to the level prior to the pandemic. The decrease compared to expected rates persists through July-December 2020 (-3.55%; CI95 [-5.38 to -1.71]) and January-March 2021 (-5.23%; CI95 [-7.24 to -3.21]). The reduction is stronger among students in the 2nd (-5.06%; CI95 [-8.02 to -2.09]) and 3rd (-4.86%; CI95 [-8.19 to -1.53]) year of upper-secondary school. The decrease is concentrated to students who was not in contact with mental healthcare services earlier in the academic year (-16.70%; CI95 [-22.20 to -11.20]). The relative reduction is largest for unplanned care (-13.88%; CI95 [-19.35 to -8.42]) and care at emergency units (-18.19%; CI95 [-26.44 to -9.92]). Interpretation Closing upper-secondary schools in Sweden reduced use of mental healthcare services. There is no indication of this being due to reduced accessibility. In a setting with no strict lockdown, moving to online teaching for a limited period did not worsen mental health among students in upper-secondary schools.

scholarly journals School closures and SARS-CoV-2. Evidence from Sweden’s partial school closure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Vlachos ◽  
Edvin Hertegård ◽  
Helena Svaleryd
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Secondary Teachers ◽  
Infection Rate ◽  
Online Instruction ◽  
School Closure ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Containment Measure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

AbstractTo reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 most countries closed schools, despite uncertainty if school closures are an effective containment measure. At the onset of the pandemic, Swedish upper secondary schools moved to online instruction while lower secondary school remained open. This allows for a comparison of parents and teachers differently exposed to open and closed schools, but otherwise facing similar conditions. Leveraging rich Swedish register data, we connect all students and teachers in Sweden to their families and study the impact of moving to online instruction on the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. We find that among parents, exposure to open rather than closed schools resulted in a small increase in PCR-confirmed infections [OR 1.17; CI95 1.03–1.32]. Among lower secondary teachers the infection rate doubled relative to upper secondary teachers [OR 2.01; CI95 1.52–2.67]. This spilled over to the partners of lower secondary teachers who had a higher infection rate than their upper secondary counterparts [OR 1.29; CI95 1.00–1.67]. When analyzing COVID-19 diagnoses from healthcare visits and the incidence of severe health outcomes, results are similar for teachers but weaker for parents and teachers’ partners. The results for parents indicate that keeping lower secondary schools open had minor consequences for the overall transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in society. The results for teachers suggest that measures to protect teachers could be considered.

scholarly journals The effects of school closures on SARS-CoV-2 among parents and teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (9) ◽  
pp. e2020834118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Vlachos ◽  
Edvin Hertegård ◽  
Helena B. Svaleryd
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Secondary Teachers ◽  
Infection Rate ◽  
Online Instruction ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Containment Measure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Lower Secondary Schools

To reduce the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), most countries closed schools, despite uncertainty if school closures are an effective containment measure. At the onset of the pandemic, Swedish upper-secondary schools moved to online instruction, while lower-secondary schools remained open. This allows for a comparison of parents and teachers differently exposed to open and closed schools, but otherwise facing similar conditions. Leveraging rich Swedish register data, we connect all students and teachers in Sweden to their families and study the impact of moving to online instruction on the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. We find that, among parents, exposure to open rather than closed schools resulted in a small increase in PCR-confirmed infections (odds ratio [OR] 1.17; 95% CI [CI95] 1.03 to 1.32). Among lower-secondary teachers, the infection rate doubled relative to upper-secondary teachers (OR 2.01; CI95 1.52 to 2.67). This spilled over to the partners of lower-secondary teachers, who had a higher infection rate than their upper-secondary counterparts (OR 1.29; CI95 1.00 to 1.67). When analyzing COVID-19 diagnoses from healthcare visits and the incidence of severe health outcomes, results are similar for teachers, but weaker for parents and teachers’ partners. The results for parents indicate that keeping lower-secondary schools open had minor consequences for the overall transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in society. The results for teachers suggest that measures to protect teachers could be considered.

scholarly journals Teacher-Rated School Leadership and Adolescent Gambling: A Study of Upper Secondary Schools in Stockholm, Sweden

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9660
Author(s):  
Gabriella Olsson ◽  
Bitte Modin ◽  
Sara Brolin Låftman
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Effective Schools ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
School Level ◽  
Adolescent Gambling ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Risk Gambling ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

So-called “effective schools” are characterised by properties such as a strong and purposeful school leadership and a favourable school ethos. In a previous study we showed that a school’s degree of teacher-rated ethos was inversely associated with student gambling and risk gambling. Building on these findings, the current study aims to examine the associations that teachers’ ratings of the school leadership share with gambling and risk gambling among students in the second grade of upper secondary school in Stockholm (age 17–18 years). Data were drawn from the Stockholm School Survey and the Stockholm Teacher Survey with information from 5191 students and 1061 teachers in 46 upper secondary schools. School-level information from administrative registers was also linked to the data. The statistical method was two-level binary logistic regression analysis. Teachers’ average ratings of the school leadership were inversely associated with both gambling (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93–0.998, p = 0.039) and risk gambling (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89–0.99, p = 0.031) among upper secondary students, whilst adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics at the student and the school level. The findings lend further support to the hypothesis that characteristics of effective schools may reduce students’ inclination to engage in gambling and risk gambling behaviours.

A qualitative study exploring adolescents' perspective about Mental Health First Aid Training Programmes promoted by nurses in upper secondary schools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Filipe Oliveira Costa ◽  
Francisco Miguel Correia Sampaio ◽  
Carlos Alberto da Cruz Sequeira ◽  
María Teresa Lluch Canut ◽  
Antonio Rafael Moreno Poyato
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Mental Health First Aid ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

scholarly journals Grammar as an “Art of Lettes” in Foreign Language Teaching (A Study of Teaching English Verb Tenses in Lower and Upper Secondary Schools)

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-93
Author(s):  
Jana Harťanská ◽  
Ivana Horváthová ◽  
Zdenka Gadušová
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Interview Methods ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

AbstractIntroduction: This paper focuses on the issue of teaching verb tenses in Slovak lower and upper secondary schools – in particular, on teaching three grammatical tenses (Present Simple, Present Continuous, and Simple Present Perfect) and the learner’s ability to use them. It also identifies the mistakes made by the learners in the research sample, causes of their mistakes, and suggests ways of eliminating these errors.Methods: The paper presents the research data collected using quantitative (questionnaire and achievement test) and qualitative (lesson observation and semi-structured interview) methods. The data are analysed, compared, and conclusions for school practice are drawn.Results: The main research findings show how the three tenses are taught, identify the impact of the ways they are taught on the ability of lower and upper secondary school learners to use them, and outline the errors they commit. The authors seek to explain the errors and suggest possible ways of eliminating them.Discussion: The current study is compared to research data presented by Gadušová and Harťanská (2002), Hlava (2012) and Lojová (2016). All of them consider the practical application of grammatical functions significant in spontaneous and meaningful communication.Limitations: Regarding the limitations of the research findings, the research sample of five interviewed teachers is too small either to make generalizations or to claim that the conducted research is fully reliable.Conclusions: The research findings demonstrate that teaching the verb tenses in lower and upper secondary schools lacks sufficient contextualised communicative activities for practising the discussed grammar items.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental healthcare consultations among children and adolescents in Norway: a nationwide registry study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Evensen ◽  
Rannveig Kaldager Hart ◽  
Anna Aasen Godoy ◽  
Lars Johan Hauge ◽  
Ingunn Olea Lund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Symptoms ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: There have been widespread concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions on children's and adolescents' mental health. While some studies have found increasing rates of mental health problems during the pandemic, other evidence suggest that mental symptoms and disorders were increasing before the pandemic. This study compared trends in mental healthcare use during the first 15 months of the pandemic with similar pre-pandemic trends. METHODS: Consultations related to mental symptoms and disorders were identified through national registries from primary and specialist healthcare services, including hospitalizations, covering the entire population of children 6-18 years in Norway (N=908 272). The monthly likelihood of having a consultation or hospitalization related to overall mental health problems, and specific diagnoses for depression, anxiety, ADHD and sleep problems were plotted from January 2020 to May 2021 and compared to trends over the same period between 2017-2019 using event study and difference-in-difference designs. FINDINGS: We found reductions in consultations for mental health symptoms and disorders in primary and specialist healthcare during the first weeks of lockdown in 2020. This decline was temporary, and volumes of consultations quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, during fall 2020, consultation volumes related to mental health in primary care increased. This increase persisted into the winter of 2021 but levelled off by the last month of the sample period. The increase in consultation volumes was about 50 % compared to the pre-pandemic period. We did not find increases in consultations in specialist healthcare, except for hospitalizations. CONCLUSION: We found an increase in primary care consultation volumes related to mental health among children that depart from the previously established increases over recent years. We did not see similar increases in consultations in the specialist healthcare. It is unknown whether increases in primary care consultations represent milder cases, which primarily do not need specialist treatment, or if the stability in specialist healthcare consultations reflects capacity problems or timelags in referrals.

Bridging the skills gap: apprentice assistant practitioners having an impact in mental healthcare services. Part 3. The mentor experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-95
Author(s):  
Andy Morris ◽  
Helen Higginson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Assistant Practitioner

Understanding the relevance of the apprentice assistant practitioner (AAP) role in mental health is important for future developments within mental health services. This third article, in a series of four exploring the potential impact of AAPs in bridging the gap in mental health services, focuses on the experiences of the mentor role. Mentorship in the development of health service workers is crucial to ensure competent, confident and skilled staff at all levels. This small-scale study looks at the experiences of the mentor in general and more specifically the experiences of a small group of mentors supporting AAPs in mental health services. A questionnaire was sent to mentors at different stages of the AAP's journey and asked them to consider three broad themes: supporting the AAP, helpfulness of the AAP standards in mentoring; and the impact of the AAP in mental health services. The results show a positive response in general from the mentors and the use of apprenticeship standards to focus the mentorship of the AAP, as well as the potential benefits the assistant practitioner (AP) role has in both supporting services users and the service as a whole.

scholarly journals Parental mental health conditions and use of healthcare services in children the first year of life– a register-based, nationwide study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Signe Heuckendorff ◽  
Martin Nygård Johansen ◽  
Søren Paaske Johnsen ◽  
Charlotte Overgaard ◽  
Kirsten Fonager
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Health Condition ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
First Year Of Life ◽  
Paternal Mental Health ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Parental mental health conditions have been associated with increased morbidity and use of healthcare services in offspring. Existing studies have not examined different severities of parental mental health conditions, and the impact of paternal mental health has been overlooked. We examined the association between two severities of parental mental health conditions and use of healthcare services for children during the first year of life and explored the impact of both maternal and paternal mental health conditions. Methods This register-based cohort study included all live-born children born in Denmark from 2000 to 2016. Information on socioeconomics, diagnoses, drug prescriptions, and healthcare contacts was extracted from nationwide public registries. Parents were grouped according to severity of mental condition based on the place of treatment of the mental health condition. Negative binominal regression analyses were performed to estimate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of contacts to general practice (GP), out-of-hour medical service, emergency room (ER), and out- and inpatient hospital contacts during the first 12 months of the child’s life. Results The analyses included 964,395 children. Twenty percent of the mothers and 12 % of the fathers were identified with mental health conditions. Paternal mental health conditions were independently associated with increased risk of infant healthcare contacts (GP IRR 1.05 (CI95% 1.04–1.06) and out-of-hour IRR 1.20 (CI95% 1.18–1.22)). Risks were higher for maternal mental health conditions (GP IRR 1.18 (CI95% 1.17–1.19) and out-of-hour IRR 1.39 (CI95% 1.37–1.41)). The risks were even higher if both parents were classified with a mental health condition (GP IRR 1.25 (CI95% 1.23–1.27) and out-of-hour contacts IRR 1.49 (CI95% 1.45–1.54)), including minor mental health condition (GP IRR 1.22 (CI95% 1.21–1.24) and out-of-hour IRR 1.37 (CI95% 1.34–1.41)). This pattern was the same for all types of healthcare contacts. Conclusions Both maternal and paternal mental health conditions, including minor mental health conditions, were associated with increased utilization of healthcare services. Focus on both parents’ mental health conditions (even if minor) may be warranted in service planning.

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