The ABC Science Collaborative and RADx-UP have published a special supplement to the research journal Pediatrics focused on lessons learned while navigating the K-12 school environment during the pandemic.
The publication supplement, “Navigating a Pandemic in the K-12 Setting, Part 2: COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination,” represents a collaborative effort between Pediatrics, The ABC Science Collaborative and the RADx-UP Coordination and Data Collection Center.
“This body of work is a collective effort by researchers across the country to share the lessons they have observed about COVID-19 testing and vaccination in K-12 schools so we can better understand and implement effective strategies to keep underserved students and communities healthy,” said Emily D’Agostino, DrPH, MS, MEd, MA, who serves as the chair of the RADx-UP Publications and Dissemination Committee.
The research highlights a collective effort of 109 authors, including eight community members, across 16 RADx-UP Safe Return to School Diagnostic Testing Initiative institutions. It is focused on learnings about COVID-19 testing, prevention strategies, and other effects of the pandemic in school settings.
“The insights from this research will help healthcare providers, policymakers, and school leaders to be better prepared in the event of a future pandemic and will allow schools to remain open for in-person education without increasing viral spread,” said Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, PhD, MPH, co-chair of The ABC Science Collaborative.
The supplement covers topics such as COVID-19 testing for young children, delivering health messages to parents and guardians of K-12 students, at-home and school-based screening testing, school attendance and test recommendations for children with medical complexity, testing enrollment in schools, testing preferences of students and school staff, in-person instruction and educational outcomes of K-8 students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.
Download and read key takeaways from the supplement in English and in Spanish. View a video about the research below.
What’s in the report?
Navigating a Pandemic in the K-12 Setting, Part 2 includes an introduction and 13 research articles.
- Introduction: Evidence for the Safe Return to School with COVID-19 Testing
- Building School-Academic Partnerships to Implement COVID-19 Testing in Underserved Populations
- Acceptability and Feasibility of Saliva-Delivered PCR Coronavirus 2019 Tests for Young Children
- Preliminary Reach of an Information Technology Approach to Support COVID-19 Testing in K-12 Schools
- At-Home vs. Onsite COVID-19 School-Based Testing: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial
- Recommendations for SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Children With Disabilities and Medical Complexity
- A COVID-19 Testing Preference Study in Schools
- Utilization and Impact of Symptomatic and Exposure SARS-CoV-2 Testing in K-12 Schools
- A Multi-Study Synthesis of Facilitators and Barriers to SARS-CoV-2 Testing Enrollment in School Settings
- School Attendance Decisions for Children with Medical Complexity During COVID-19
- In-Person Instruction and Educational Outcomes of K-8 Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Reflections from School-Based Communities in Underserved Populations on Childhood COVID-19 Vaccination
- Common Data Element Collection in Underserved School Communities: Challenges and Recommendations
- Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic in K-12 Education
View a video about the Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic
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PDF List of RADx-UP APHA Presentations
Download and carry this guide to the RADx-UP APHA presentations.
This is the second supplement published by The ABC Science Collaborative, RADx-UP, and Pediatrics. Read about the first supplement here.
About The ABC Science Collaborative
The ABC Science Collaborative is a program that pairs scientists and physicians with school and community leaders, as well as community organizations, to help understand the most current information about COVID-19 and the implications of the pandemic on the well-being of children, their families, and the communities they are a part of. The program helps school leaders make informed decisions using data from their own communities. The ultimate goal of the program is to keep teachers, children, and their local communities healthy, both now and in the future. Learn more at abcsciencecollaborative.org.
About RADx-UP
RADx® Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) represents a significant investment by the National Institutes of Health to address the COVID-19 pandemic and health equity in underserved populations. The RADx-UP consortium is a network of more than 137 community-engaged research project teams and mini-grant recipients across all 50 states, and U.S. territories and Tribal Nations. Each project is based at an academic institution and relies on the active partnership of community organizations and leaders. Learn more at RADx-UP.org.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health under award number U24MD016258; National Institutes of Health [NIH] Agreement No.’s OT2HD107543, OT2HD107544, OT2HD107553, OT2HD107555, OT2HD107556, OT2HD107557, OT2HD107558, OT2HD107559, OT2HD108103, OT2HD108101, OT2HD108105, OT2HD108111, OT2HD108106, OT2HD108112, OT2HD108097, OT2HD108110, 3P0HD103525-03S1; the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number U24TR001608; and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under contract HHSN275201000003I. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.