ArticlePloS one2016
Are School Absences Correlated with Influenza Surveillance Data in England? Results from Decipher My Data-A Research Project Conducted through Scientific Engagement with Schools.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Monitoring School Absenteeism for Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Pooled it
- School-based surveillance of acute infectious disease in children: a systematic review.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of smaller classes on infection-related school absence: evidence from the Project STAR randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2024Trial
- Evaluation of Kindergarten Through Grade 12 All-Cause Absenteeism Data as an Indicator and Predictor of Respiratory Disease, 2018-2022.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) · 2025Article
- School-level data on COVID-19 cases, quarantines, and student absenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic: understanding missingness.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Pilot Influenza Syndromic Surveillance System Based on Absenteeism and Temperature in China: Development and Usability Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Article
- The Oregon Child Absenteeism Due to Respiratory Disease Study (ORCHARDS): Rationale, objectives, and design.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2022Article
- Using GPS-enabled mobile phones to evaluate the associations between human mobility changes and the onset of influenza illness.Spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology · 2022Article
- Observational
- Developing a sentinel syndromic surveillance system using school-absenteeism data, example monitoring absences over the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.Epidemiology and infection · 2021Article
- Tardiness Increases in Winter: Evidence for Annual Rhythms in Humans.Journal of biological rhythms · 2019Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSchool aged children are a key link in the transmission of influenza. Most cases have little or no interaction with health services and are therefore missed by the majority of existing surveillance systems. As part of a public engagement with science project, this study aimed to establish a web-based system for the collection of routine school absence data and determine if school absence prevalence was correlated with established surveillance measures for circulating influenza.
methodsWe collected data for two influenza seasons (2011/12 and 2012/13). The primary outcome was daily school absence prevalence (weighted to make it nationally representative) for children aged 11 to 16. School absence prevalence was triangulated graphically and through univariable linear regression to Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) influenza like illness (ILI) episode incidence rate, national microbiological surveillance data on the proportion of samples positive for influenza (A+B) and with Rhinovirus, RSV and laboratory confirmed cases of Norovirus.
results27 schools submitted data over two respiratory seasons. During the first season, levels of influenza measured by school absence prevalence and established surveillance were low. In the 2012/13 season, a peak of school absence prevalence occurred in week 51, and week 1 in RCGP ILI surveillance data. Linear regression showed a strong association between the school absence prevalence and RCGP ILI (All ages, and 5-14 year olds), laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A & B, and weak evidence for a linear association with Rhinovirus and Norovirus.
interpretationThis study provides initial evidence for using routine school illness absence prevalence as a novel tool for influenza surveillance. The network of web-based data collection platforms we established through active engagement provides an innovative model of conducting scientific research and could be used for a wide range of infectious disease studies in the future.
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Registered trials
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