The Association Between School Closures and Child Mental Health During COVID-19

Hawrilenko, Matt; Kroshus, Emily; Tandon, Pooja; Christakis, Dimitri A.

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.24092

Cited by 171 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

127

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…During the pandemic, schools have been frequently closed to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmissions 25 . However, closure of schools and daycare facilities have had a substantial impact on development, physical and mental health of children 13–15, 26 . Therefore, concepts are essential to support safe and open school settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children

Dewald

Suárez

Johnen

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Systematic SARS-CoV-2 testing is a valuable tool for infection control and surveillance. However, broad application of high sensitive RT-qPCR testing in children is often hampered due to unpleasant sample collection, limited RT-qPCR capacities, and high costs. Here, we developed a high-throughput approach (Lolli-Method) for sensitive SARS-CoV-2 detection in children, combining non-invasive sample collection with an RT-qPCR-pool testing strategy. SARS-CoV-2 infections were diagnosed with sensitivities of 100% and 93.9% when viral loads were >10E6 copies/ml and >10E3 copies/ml in corresponding Naso-/Oropharyngeal-swabs, respectively. For effective application of the Lolli-Method in schools and daycare facilities, SIR-modeling indicated a preferred frequency of two tests per week. The developed test strategy was implemented in 3,700 schools and 698 daycare facilities in Germany, screening over 800,000 individuals twice per week. In a period of 3 months, 6,364 pool-RT-qPCRs tested positive (0.64%) ranging from 0.05% to 2.61% per week. Notably, infections correlated with local SARS-CoV-2 incidences as well as with a school social deprivation index. Moreover, in comparison with the alpha variant, statistical modeling revealed a 31% increase for multiple (>1 child) infections per class following infections with the delta variant. We conclude that the Lolli-Method is a powerful tool for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and infection control in schools and daycare facilities.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children

Dewald

Suárez

Johnen

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Economical strain due to the pandemic was a key correlate of poorer mental health [30], especially in Sri Lanka due to the impact on small and medium scale enterprises where employees not only lost their income, they found it hard to repay loans resulting in severe mental health consequences [31,32]. A recent study in US (United States) investigating school closure and children's mental health wellbeing pointed out that older children with "Black and Hispanic" background and from lower income families showed more impact on mental health than "white", younger and higher-income counterparts [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Consequences from COVID-19 Pandemic and Strategies for Community Level Recovery

Somasundaram

Rajeshkannan

Kumarendran

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the globe from 2019 affecting millions of people physically, mentally, and socio-economically. The purpose of the study was to map out the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic and suggest recovery strategies.Methods: A qualitative inquiry into the mental health aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic using observations from working in busy health clinics, general practices, primary and community care setting, and dedicated COVID acute care wards during the pandemic in Australia, United Kingdom and Sri Lanka; discussions with colleagues worldwide; analyzing social and news media comments; literature survey and experience of dealing with past disasters were used to map out mental health consequences and put forward recovery strategies.Results: In covid sufferers, neuropsychiatric symptoms lasting months, unrelated to respiratory insufficiency suggested brain damage due to vascular endothelial injury and/or cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). A third went onto develop or have a relapse of a psychological or neurological conditions. In the general population, common consequences included common mental health disorders; changing patterns of substance abuse including alcohol; increased domestic violence and child abuse. Family relationships, interactions and understanding improved in many but minority had strained dynamics. Vulnerable groups included the elderly, women, youth; children; disabled; frontline and health workers; minorities and severely mentally ill. At the community level, there were signs of collective (mass) hysteria from panic buying to conspiracy theories, public shaming, fake news and disinformation spreading on social media and mass protests. There were also positive effects such as better understanding of bio-knowledge; interventions (rapid vaccine production, contact tracing methods) and discoveries (mRNA Vaccines), health systems improvements (tele-health), online learning, gratitude toward heath care workers, increased social/community/family cohesion, closer international networking, reduction in suicide rates and drop in interstate and civil conflicts, road accidents, crime and communicable diseases with their resultant morbidity, mortality and mental health consequences. Conclusions: In view of the widespread mental health and psychosocial consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic, a community-based approach is suggested while treating more severe mental disorders at the primary care or specialist level.

show abstract

“…Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), school closures, and quarantines have had substantial impacts on students' health and education. 1,2,3 Clinical trials have shown severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines to be safe and efficacious for adults, adolescents, and young children. 4 However, in some areas, vaccine uptake has been low among children and adolescents, especially compared to uptake in adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Incidence Among Sixth Through Twelfth Grade Students by Vaccination Status

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), school closures, and quarantines have had substantial impacts on students’ health and education.1,2,3 Clinical trials have shown severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines to be safe and efficacious for adults, adolescents, and young children.4 However, in some areas, vaccine uptake has been low among children and adolescents, especially compared to uptake in adults.1 Additionally, real-world vaccine effectiveness data among adolescents and implications for in-person education are lacking. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on SARS-CoV-2 incidence and within-school transmission in a cohort of 6th-12th grade students.

show abstract

The Association Between School Closures and Child Mental Health During COVID-19

Cited by 171 publications

References 30 publications

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children

Mental Health Consequences from COVID-19 Pandemic and Strategies for Community Level Recovery

COVID-19 Incidence Among Sixth Through Twelfth Grade Students by Vaccination Status

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About