Dataset Information

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

ABSTRACT: 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.

SUBMITTER: Vlachos J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7936333 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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

Vlachos Jonas J Hertegård Edvin E B Svaleryd Helena H

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20210301 9

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 Swedis ...[more]

PMID: 33574041

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Project description:ImportanceResurgent COVID-19 cases have resulted in the reinstitution of nonpharmaceutical interventions, including school closures, which can have adverse effects on families. Understanding the associations of school closures with the number of incident and cumulative COVID-19 cases is critical for decision-making.ObjectiveTo estimate the association of schools being open or closed with the number of COVID-19 cases compared with community-based nonpharmaceutical interventions.Design, setting, and participantsThis decision analytical modelling study developed an agent-based transmission model using a synthetic population of 1 000 000 individuals based on the characteristics of the population of Ontario, Canada. Members of the synthetic population were clustered into households, neighborhoods, or rural districts, cities or rural regions, day care facilities, classrooms (ie, primary, elementary, or high school), colleges or universities, and workplaces. Data were analyzed between May 5, 2020, and October 20, 2020.ExposuresSchool reopening on September 15, 2020, vs schools remaining closed under different scenarios for nonpharmaceutical interventions.Main outcomes and measuresIncident and cumulative COVID-19 cases between September 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020.ResultsAmong 1 000 000 simulated individuals, the percentage of infections among students and teachers acquired within schools was less than 5% across modeled scenarios. Incident COVID-19 case numbers on October 31, 2020, were 4414 (95% credible interval [CrI], 3491-5382) cases in the scenario with schools remaining closed and 4740 (95% CrI, 3863-5691) cases in the scenario for schools reopening, with no other community-based nonpharmaceutical intervention. In scenarios with community-based nonpharmaceutical interventions implemented, the incident case numbers on October 31 were 714 (95% CrI, 568-908) cases for schools remaining closed and 780 (95% CrI, 580-993) cases for schools reopening. When scenarios applied the case numbers observed in early October in Ontario, the cumulative case numbers were 777 (95% CrI, 621-993) cases for schools remaining closed and 803 (95% CrI, 617-990) cases for schools reopening. In scenarios with implementation of community-based interventions vs no community-based interventions, there was a mean difference of 39 355 cumulative COVID-19 cases by October 31, 2020, while keeping schools closed vs reopening them yielded a mean difference of 2040 cases.Conclusions and relevanceThis decision analytical modeling study of a synthetic population of individuals in Ontario, Canada, found that most COVID-19 cases in schools were due to acquisition in the community rather than transmission within schools and that the changes in COVID-19 case numbers associated with school reopenings were relatively small compared with the changes associated with community-based nonpharmaceutical interventions.

Project description:ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine parents' and school-aged children's mental well-being after experiencing confinement and prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignUsing a cross-sectional design, an online survey was applied to parents of school-aged children inquiring about their mental well-being and COVID-19 pandemic changes in their home and working lives. To assess the presence of depression, anxiety and stress in parents, the participants responded to the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 scale. To assess psychosocial dysfunction and sleep disturbances in children, participants responded to the Pediatric Symptom Checklist and the Children Sleep Habits Questionnaire.ResultsA total of 209 parents answered the questionnaire, most of them were female (87.1%) with a mean age of 40 years. The prevalence of anxiety, stress and parental depression symptoms were 35.9%, 28.2% and 25.4%, respectively. Children's mean age was 8.9 years, the prevalence of children's psychosocial dysfunction was 12%, while their sleep disturbance symptoms were 59.8%. 10.5% of children were suffering both outcomes. We found a bidirectional relationship between parents' and children's mental health outcomes. Parental depression symptoms were associated with experiencing COVID-19 infection within the household, having children with pre-existing medical diagnoses, children's psychosocial dysfunction and sleep disturbances. Children's psychosocial dysfunction was associated with parental depression and changes in their school routine. Children's sleep disturbances were associated with parental anxiety, younger age, increased use of electronic devices, night-time awakenings and shorter sleep time.ConclusionOur results support the impact of long confinement and school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexican children and parents' mental well-being. We advocate for specific mental health interventions tailored to respond to parents and children at risk of mental well-being distress.

Dataset Information

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

Publications

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

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