Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32272089›Full record

SynthesisThe Lancet. Child & adolescent health2020

School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review.

Russell M Viner, Simon J Russell, Helen Croker, Jessica Packer, Joseph Ward, Claire Stansfield, Oliver Mytton, Chris Bonell, Robert Booy

Open access · bronzeAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Lancet. Child & adolescent health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 736 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
736citing papers in PubMed, 14 pooled it
72.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

736 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 2,313 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Emotions in Times of Pandemic Crisis among Italian Children: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
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  9. Prevalence of Burnout among Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
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  11. PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) in Teachers: A Mini Meta-Analysis during COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
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  13. The role of children in household transmission of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022
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676 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Russell M VinerUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK. Electronic address: r.viner@ucl.ac.uk.
Simon J RussellUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Helen CrokerUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Jessica PackerUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Joseph WardUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Claire StansfieldUCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK.
Oliver MyttonMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Chris BonellPublic Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Robert BooyNational Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
University College London · GBLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Sydney · AU

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_UU_00006/7Medical Research Council MR/R00160X/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, 107 countries had implemented national school closures by March 18, 2020. It is unknown whether school measures are effective in coronavirus outbreaks (eg, due to severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS], Middle East respiratory syndrome, or COVID-19). We undertook a systematic review by searching three electronic databases to identify what is known about the effectiveness of school closures and other school social distancing practices during coronavirus outbreaks. We included 16 of 616 identified articles. School closures were deployed rapidly across mainland China and Hong Kong for COVID-19. However, there are no data on the relative contribution of school closures to transmission control. Data from the SARS outbreak in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore suggest that school closures did not contribute to the control of the epidemic. Modelling studies of SARS produced conflicting results. Recent modelling studies of COVID-19 predict that school closures alone would prevent only 2-4% of deaths, much less than other social distancing interventions. Policy makers need to be aware of the equivocal evidence when considering school closures for COVID-19, and that combinations of social distancing measures should be considered. Other less disruptive social distancing interventions in schools require further consideration if restrictive social distancing policies are implemented for long periods.

Indexed as

CoronavirusSchoolsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19Disease OutbreaksDisease Transmission, InfectiousHumansInfluenza, HumanPandemicsPneumonia, ViralTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID32272089
PMCPMC7270629
OpenAlexW3015107971

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.