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Children and young people with inflammatory bowel disease attend less school than their healthy peers

Children and young people with inflammatory bowel disease attend less school than their healthy peers
Children and young people with inflammatory bowel disease attend less school than their healthy peers
OBJECTIVE:
Chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), can impact negatively on education and social development. Examining the impact of IBD on school/college attendance for children and young people (CYP) is vital to provide targeted support to patients, families and schools.

METHODS:
We performed a cross-sectional survey to determine the school/college attendance rates, the reasons for absence related to IBD and facilitators or barriers to school/college attendance. In a subset of patients followed up locally, we performed a detailed review of hospital attendance data to assess healthcare burden.

RESULTS:
Two hundred and thirty-one questionnaires were given to CYP with IBD aged 5-17 years. Response rate was 74% (final sample 169). The median school/college attendance rate was 92.5%, significantly lower than all children in England (95.2%). 39.6% of children with IBD were persistently absent, defined nationally as missing 10% or more of school. Only five children (3%) had a 100% attendance record. Increasing age and use of monoclonal therapy were predictors of poor school attendance. Concerns about feeling unwell at school/college, access to toilets, keeping up with work and teachers' understanding of IBD are the main issues for CYP with IBD. There was a significant negative correlation between number of days in hospital and school attendance.

CONCLUSION:
IBD has a significant impact on school/college attendance, with hospital attendance, disease burden and school difficulties being major factors. Employing strategies to minimise healthcare burden and developing a partnership between health and education to support children with IBD will serve to facilitate school/college attendance.
chronic illness, education, inflammatory bowel disease, paediatric, school
0003-9888
671-676
Barnes, C.L.
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Ashton, J.J.
03369017-99b5-40ae-9a43-14c98516f37d
Borca, F.
31fc3965-6bcf-4fd6-85bc-8b0f99f62473
Cullen, M.
d3dee1e2-b7bb-4c38-a94a-ae3e5cc0b544
Walker, D.-M.
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Beattie, R.M.
9a66af0b-f81c-485c-b01d-519403f0038a
Barnes, C.L.
77f0a3c8-bff9-428a-bbcf-605297822109
Ashton, J.J.
03369017-99b5-40ae-9a43-14c98516f37d
Borca, F.
31fc3965-6bcf-4fd6-85bc-8b0f99f62473
Cullen, M.
d3dee1e2-b7bb-4c38-a94a-ae3e5cc0b544
Walker, D.-M.
5d4c78b7-4411-493e-8844-b64efc72a1e8
Beattie, R.M.
9a66af0b-f81c-485c-b01d-519403f0038a

Barnes, C.L., Ashton, J.J., Borca, F., Cullen, M., Walker, D.-M. and Beattie, R.M. (2020) Children and young people with inflammatory bowel disease attend less school than their healthy peers. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 105 (7), 671-676, [317765]. (doi:10.1136/archdischild-2019-317765).

Record type: Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), can impact negatively on education and social development. Examining the impact of IBD on school/college attendance for children and young people (CYP) is vital to provide targeted support to patients, families and schools.

METHODS:
We performed a cross-sectional survey to determine the school/college attendance rates, the reasons for absence related to IBD and facilitators or barriers to school/college attendance. In a subset of patients followed up locally, we performed a detailed review of hospital attendance data to assess healthcare burden.

RESULTS:
Two hundred and thirty-one questionnaires were given to CYP with IBD aged 5-17 years. Response rate was 74% (final sample 169). The median school/college attendance rate was 92.5%, significantly lower than all children in England (95.2%). 39.6% of children with IBD were persistently absent, defined nationally as missing 10% or more of school. Only five children (3%) had a 100% attendance record. Increasing age and use of monoclonal therapy were predictors of poor school attendance. Concerns about feeling unwell at school/college, access to toilets, keeping up with work and teachers' understanding of IBD are the main issues for CYP with IBD. There was a significant negative correlation between number of days in hospital and school attendance.

CONCLUSION:
IBD has a significant impact on school/college attendance, with hospital attendance, disease burden and school difficulties being major factors. Employing strategies to minimise healthcare burden and developing a partnership between health and education to support children with IBD will serve to facilitate school/college attendance.

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Untracked_04_12_19_School Attendance - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 12 December 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 January 2020
Published date: 1 July 2020
Additional Information: Funding Information: Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. JJA is funded by an Action Medical Research Clinical fellowship and by a personal ESPEN fellowship. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Archives of Disease in Childhood. All rights reserved.
Keywords: chronic illness, education, inflammatory bowel disease, paediatric, school

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 436713
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/436713
ISSN: 0003-9888
PURE UUID: 92305bda-c7c1-4dc5-82b6-ce22c93cc612
ORCID for J.J. Ashton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0348-8198
ORCID for D.-M. Walker: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2135-1363

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Date deposited: 03 Jan 2020 11:02
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:48

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Contributors

Author: C.L. Barnes
Author: J.J. Ashton ORCID iD
Author: F. Borca
Author: M. Cullen
Author: D.-M. Walker ORCID iD
Author: R.M. Beattie

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