Chronic School Absenteeism for Health-Related Reasons

With the school year coming to a close in many places, there may be a kid or two who does not want to go to school. Being absent from school can result in loss of learning opportunities.

The National Center for Health Statistics (Black and Elgaddal, 2024) recently published a report exploring chronic school absenteeism for health-related reasons in children aged 5-17 years. Chronic absenteeism was defined as missing 15 or more days of school in the prior 12-month period.

Black and Elgaddal used data from the 2022 National Center for Health Statistics. Respondents were asked the following question: During the past 12 months, about how many days of school did [sample child] miss school because they had an illness, injury, or disability?

These investigators found that almost 6 percent of children met the criteria for chronic school absenteeism for health-related reasons. The rate of chronic absenteeism did not differ significantly based on sex or race. Statistically significant differences were noted in terms of race and Hispanic origin, family income, disability status, and health status. Hearing was one of the 13 core functions assessed to determine disability status.

Access the full report for further details.

Reference

Black LI, Elgaddal N. (2024) Chronic school absenteeism for health-related reasons among children ages 5‒17 years: United States, 2022. NCHS Data Brief 498.