The effect of sharing health information on teachers' production of classroom accommodations

Abstract

Ninety elementary-school teachers read information about a hypothetical student experiencing school-related problems due to Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), generated classroom accommodations to assist the student, and rated their confidence in these accommodations. Each teacher was provided one of three levels of information about T1DM: (a) no disease information, (b) basic disease information, and (c) basic disease information + classroom implications. Providing teachers with more information about T1DM increased their ability to accommodate a student's learning needs. Similarly, a lower proportion of disease-specific accommodations were generated by teachers receiving no disease information (37%) than by teachers receiving basic disease information or basic disease information ϩ classroom implications, and the later two groups were equivalent (47% for each). This study and future work concerning the effect of chronic illness on classroom performance and adjustment have implications for medical professionals, teachers, and school psychologists.

School‐based tertiary and targeted interventions for students with chronic medical conditions: Examples from type 1 diabetes mellitus and epilepsy

“…However, even when teachers received full disclosure about T1DM, its classroom manifestations, and suggestions for classroom accommodations, more than one half of their accommodations were not appropriate for a student with T1DM (Cunningham & Wodrich, 2006). Thus, it is clear that teachers both benefit from information about chronic illness and need supplemental contact with professionals.…”

“…the value of informing teachers, a follow-up study found that increasing information about T1DM and its potential classroom impact improved the quality of classroom instructional accommodations made by teachers when hypothetical students with T1DM encountered various instructional problems (Cunningham & Wodrich, 2006). However, even when teachers received full disclosure about T1DM, its classroom manifestations, and suggestions for classroom accommodations, more than one half of their accommodations were not appropriate for a student with T1DM (Cunningham & Wodrich, 2006).…”

Exploring factors impacting sharing health-tracking records

“…A number of studies have explored privacy in the context of health care and information sharing [18][19][20][21]. They have established that respondents report a range of benefits from health information sharing.…”

Issues in monitoring medication effects in the classroom

“…They may have limited or inaccurate information in terms of pediatric psychopharmacology, yet knowledge about treatment typically informs acceptability of interventions (Von Brock & Elliott, 1987). There is currently little research specific to the influence of teacher knowledge on acceptability of medication monitoring (DuPaul et al, 2004); however, in a related line of research, Wodrich and colleagues have linked increased teacher knowledge of chronic health impairments with more positive teacher attributions and greater perceived ability to generate appropriate accommodations (Cunningham & Wodrich, 2006;Wodrich, 2005). It is likely that an informative, transparent, and sensitive approach could increase teachers' acceptability of a monitoring plan.…”