Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Disabled Children , Noninvasive Ventilation/methods , Return to School , Tracheostomy/methods , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Child , Child Health , Communicable Disease Control , Disabled Children/education , Disabled Children/psychology , Education, Distance , Humans , Interdisciplinary Communication , Personal Protective Equipment/supply & distribution , Preventive Health Services/methods , Return to School/methods , Return to School/organization & administration , Risk Assessment , SARS-CoV-2 , United Kingdom/epidemiologySubject(s)
COVID-19/prevention & control , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Return to School/standards , Schools/organization & administration , Academies and Institutes , Adolescent , COVID-19/diagnosis , Child , Child, Preschool , Humans , Pediatrics , Return to School/methods , Return to School/organization & administration , United StatesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to understand caregiver preferences for their children's instructional format for the start of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The purpose of the current study was to assess caregiver preferences for on-campus versus virtual learning at home during the fall and factors associated with these preferences. METHODS: Participants were caregivers of 4436 children and adolescents who were enrolled in pre-kindergarten through high school at a large, public school district in Texas. Caregivers were asked to complete an anonymous, online survey about their initial preferences for their student's back to the school learning environment. RESULTS: Caregivers of high- and middle-school students were more likely to endorse a preference for an on-campus/virtual hybrid instructional format and less likely to endorse a preference for a traditional, face-to-face instructional format compared to caregivers of elementary school students. Regardless of the school level, concerns about child health and safety were the factor most strongly associated with caregiver preferences for on-campus versus virtual learning at home during the fall. CONCLUSIONS: These data highlight the importance of school re-opening plans offering virtual options and addressing caregiver concerns about children's health and safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Caregivers/psychology , Parents/psychology , Return to School/organization & administration , Adolescent , Child , Child Health/standards , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Pandemics , Return to School/standards , SARS-CoV-2 , Socioeconomic Factors , Texas/epidemiologyABSTRACT
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, United States (U.S.) educational institutions must weigh incomplete scientific evidence to inform decisions about how best to re-open schools without sacrificing public health. While many communities face surging case numbers, others are experiencing case plateaus or even decreasing numbers. Simultaneously, some U.S. school systems face immense infrastructure challenges and resource constraints, while others are better positioned to resume face-to-face instruction. In this review, we first examine potential engineering controls to reduce SARS-CoV-2 exposures; we then present processes whereby local decision-makers can identify and partner with scientists, faculty, students, parents, public health officials, and others to determine the controls most appropriate for their communities. While no solution completely eliminates risks of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and illness, this mini-review discusses engaged decision and communication processes that incorporate current scientific knowledge, school district constraints, local tolerance for health risk, and community priorities to help guide schools in selecting and implementing re-opening strategies that are acceptable, feasible, and context-specific.