The prevalence of sickness absence among primary school pupils - reason to be worried?

BACKGROUND: Absence from school can lead to lower educational achievement and poor health. Little is known about school absence in primary education. This study's first aim was to examine the prevalence of school absence in primary schools and differing types of absence, including sickness absence. The second aim was to determine which pupil characteristics and types of absence were associated with extensive sickness absence. METHODS: The school absence registries for the school year 2015-2016 were analysed retrospectively in eight mainstream primary schools with 2216 pupils, and six schools for special primary education with 1000 pupils in the West-Brabant region of the Netherlands. Descriptive analyses, χ2-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests and logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The one-year prevalence of school absence was 85% in mainstream primary schools and 79% in special schools. Sickness absence was the most prevalent type of absence, occurring in 75 and 71% of pupils, respectively The prevalence of extensive sickness absence was 13 and 23%, respectively. In mainstream schools, extensive sickness absence was associated with a young age, low parental educational level, more doctor's visits and unauthorised absence, and in special schools with more doctor's visits, other authorised absence, tardiness and unauthorised absence. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of extensive sickness absence was high, and as this was associated with other types of absence, these pupils missed even more days of school. Public health research, policy and practice should address sickness absence among primary school pupils, to prevent adverse effects on children's development.

Tapping the Employee Perspective on the Improvement of Sustainable Employability (SE): Validation of the MAastricht Instrument for SE (MAISE-NL).

Background: Sustainable employability (SE) is top priority for employers. Measures based on the employee perspective of SE that would give direction to interventions to be initiated by employers currently fall short. This study aims to develop and validate an instrument that captures these issues: the MAastricht Instrument for Sustainable Employability (MAISE). Methods: MAISE items were generated from an extensive literature review and interviews with employers and employees. A questionnaire containing these items as well as proxy variables (health and vitality) and demographics was answered online by 632 employees (response rate 50.3%). Construct validity, reliability, and criterion validity were tested through Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Cronbach's alpha, and correlational analyses. Results: The MAISE comprises 12 scales divided over five areas: (1) Meaning of SE; (2) Level of SE; (3) Factors affecting my SE; (4) Overall responsibility for SE; and (5) Responsibility for factors affecting my SE. Reliability, construct, and criterion validity were adequate to good. SE of the employees was relatively high, and SE was considered a shared responsibility of the employee and employer. Conclusions: This study showed the MAISE to be reliable and valid in various employee groups. More validation studies are needed. We recommend that employers use the MAISE as a needs assessment in order to develop SE interventions that will be readily accepted.