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

Abstract

ObjectiveChronic 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.MethodsWe 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.ResultsTwo 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.ConclusionIBD 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.

Repercussões das Doenças Inflamatórias Intestinais no Desenvolvimento Socioemocional de Pacientes Pediátricos

“…A repercussão dos sintomas sobre as emoções dos pacientes pediátricos também é relevante pelo impacto que os problemas emocionais podem ter sobre o agravamento da doença. Pacientes que necessitam de readmissão hospitalar tendem a ser mais propensos ao diagnóstico de ansiedade e depressão (Barnes et al, 2020). Isso pode ocorrer porque as manifestações subjetivas intensificam as manifestações orgânicas, resultando em maior necessidade de assistência médica e psicológica.…”

“…Outros prejuízos comuns aos pacientes pediátricos com DII envolvem a vida escolar (Barnes et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2020). Comparadas aos pares saudáveis, crianças e adolescentes com DII apresentam notas mais baixas e maiores taxas de absenteísmo escolar (Barnes et al, 2020;Eloi et al, 2019;Touma et al, 2021).…”

“…Outros prejuízos comuns aos pacientes pediátricos com DII envolvem a vida escolar (Barnes et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2020). Comparadas aos pares saudáveis, crianças e adolescentes com DII apresentam notas mais baixas e maiores taxas de absenteísmo escolar (Barnes et al, 2020;Eloi et al, 2019;Touma et al, 2021). As justificativas mais comuns para a ausência escolar incluem as consultas hospitalares, a preocupação de se sentir mal na escola e a dificuldade de acesso ao banheiro (Barnes et al, 2020;Eloi et al, 2019).…”

“…Comparadas aos pares saudáveis, crianças e adolescentes com DII apresentam notas mais baixas e maiores taxas de absenteísmo escolar (Barnes et al, 2020;Eloi et al, 2019;Touma et al, 2021). As justificativas mais comuns para a ausência escolar incluem as consultas hospitalares, a preocupação de se sentir mal na escola e a dificuldade de acesso ao banheiro (Barnes et al, 2020;Eloi et al, 2019). Já as dificuldades no desempenho acadêmico podem ser explicadas por variáveis como a maior gravidade da doença, idade mais jovem no diagnóstico e tratamentos com efeitos colaterais mais fortes (Lum et al, 2017), bem como a experiência de sofrimento emocional (Touma et al, 2021).…”

Burden and Epidemiology of Human Intestinal Giardia duodenalis Infection in Colombia: A Systematic Review

“…Parasitic infections and diarrheal diseases are significant threats to the Colombian heath system and, in general, to all developing countries [ 26 ], causing work and school absenteeism with adverse socio-economic impacts [ 27 , 28 ]. Giardia spp.…”