Medscape: health issues drive more missed days
- JAMA Pediatrics published a national U.S. study on April 27 finding children with chronic health needs or health-related social needs miss more school. - Children with both burdens had a 9.4% chance of missing 11 or more school days for illness, versus 1.8% for peers. - The analysis used 2022-23 federal child health survey data as absenteeism remains above prepandemic levels. (jamanetwork.com)
A new JAMA Pediatrics study found U.S. children with chronic health needs or health-related social needs were more likely to miss school for health reasons. (jamanetwork.com) The paper, published online April 27, 2026, analyzed nationally representative 2022-2023 National Survey of Children’s Health data for children ages 6 to 17. (jamanetwork.com) (mchb.hrsa.gov) Researchers defined elevated health-related absenteeism as missing 11 or more school days in the past year because of illness or injury. (jamanetwork.com) The estimated probability was 1.8% for children with neither chronic health needs nor health-related social needs, 4.4% for children with chronic health needs alone, and 3.7% for children with social needs alone. (jamanetwork.com) For children with both, the estimated probability rose to 9.4%, the highest level in the study. MedPage Today reported the adjusted odds ratio for that group was 5.79. (jamanetwork.com) (medpagetoday.com) The study counted housing instability, food insecurity, parent health needs, and adverse childhood experiences as health-related social needs. It also included children with special health care needs status or one of 27 chronic conditions. (jamanetwork.com) That framing shifts the absenteeism debate away from treating every missed day as a motivation or discipline problem. The authors wrote that health systems may have a role in targeted interventions for children carrying these burdens. (jamanetwork.com) The timing matters because chronic absenteeism remains far above prepandemic norms. JAMA Pediatrics said more than 1 in 4 U.S. children were chronically absent in the 2022-2023 school year, about double prepandemic rates. (jamanetwork.com) A separate 2026 commentary in The Journal of Pediatrics put the more recent figure at 22% of kindergarten through 12th grade students in 2024-2025, down from the peak but still elevated. (jpeds.com) Lead author Michelle Shankar of Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein and colleagues also presented the findings at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Boston, held April 24-27. (academicpeds.org) (medpagetoday.com) The paper does not say schools can solve chronic illness or food insecurity in a classroom. It does suggest that children missing the most school are often carrying medical and household strain at the same time. (jamanetwork.com)
