Weill Researchers from the Institute of Population Health (IPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) investigated the impact of COVID-19 school closures on the mental and physical health of children and adolescents.

The researchers found that school closures and home quarantine were associated with increased stress, sadness, frustration, indiscipline, loneliness, disrupted sleep patterns, hyperactivity among the young. Researchers also observed a significant decrease (45%) in hospital admissions and in pediatric emergency department visits (68%) for common ailments like gastroenteritis, respiratory infections and ear ailments (infections).

The study titled, The Impact of COVID-19 School Closure on Child and Adolescent Health: A Rapid Systematic Review, also noted a reduction in daily physical activity, increased risk of childhood obesity and higher body-mass index (BMI) scores. The study was a rapid systematic review that analysed data from ten studies on child and adolescent health conducted in the USA, Japan, France, Italy, Thailand, and Turkey. The study has been published in the journal Children.

Loss of access for critical services

Another key study finding was the loss of access for students to the usual critical services provided by schools. These included school-based healthcare services, programmes for children with disabilities and school and childcare-based nutritional programmes for underprivileged children.

The study also identified a greater risk of widening educational disparities caused by parents from poorer households, who have less time and resources to facilitate remote learning during school closures. While sleep patterns were found to be altered, the sleep quality of children and young people did not appear to be negatively affected by school closure. Suicide rates among children and adolescents were also not affected.

WCM-Q Research School Closures
(From left) Dr Karima Chaabna, Dr Sathya Doraiswamy, Dr Ravinder Mamtani, and Dr Sohaila Cheema

The authors of the research are Dr Ravinder Mamtani, Dr Sohaila Cheema, Dr Sathya Doraiswamy, Dr Karima Chaabna, and Dr Sonia Chaabane.

The study concluded that further research is needed to assess the impact of school closures on health, social development and the ability of children and adolescents to learn. In particular, the authors recommended the investigation of key quality-of-life indicators such as lifestyle habits, cognitive development, social interactions (including social media use), screen time, and time spent studying. The authors also suggested that public health authorities devise a customised benefit-and-risk assessment studies that take into account the local socio-economic context, the school system and the availability of healthcare resources.

Follow this link to read the full research. 


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