Assessment of COVID‐19 Messaging Strategies to Increase Testing for Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Background Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) were disproportionately impacted by the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study's goal was to assess the effectiveness of 2 messaging strategies on participation in SARS‐CoV‐2 weekly testing. Methods Cluster randomized trials were...

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Published inThe Journal of school health Vol. 94; no. 6; pp. 551 - 561
Main Authors Walsh, Tyler J, Kalb, Luther G, Gemmell, Michael, Liu, Jingxia, Caburnay, Charlene A, Gurnett, Christina A, Newland, Jason G, Imbeah, Adwoa, Bono, Kelly, Baldenweck, Megan, Errichetti, Cheryl Lyn, Bey, Claudaya Hood, Traughber, Matthew C., Vestal, Liz, Mueller, Nancy B., Balls‐Berry, Joyce E., Myers, Linda, Maricque, Brett B., Schlaggar, Bradley L., Schmidt, Ann, Stone, Maureen, Dougherty, Nikole Lobb, Poor, Timothy J., Fritz, Stephanie A., Powell, Byron J., Wilcher‐Roberts, Myisha, Snider, Elsa, McKay, Virginia R., Gotto, George S., Dubois, James M., Constantino, John N., Brodsky, Victor B., Sherby, Michael R., Lai, Albert M., Neidich, Julie A., Morris, Stephanie M., Head, Rich
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Malden, USA Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01.06.2024
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
Adolescent
Child
communication strategies
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 Testing - methods
Developmental disabilities
Developmental Disabilities - diagnosis
Female
Humans
infectious diseases
intellectual and developmental disabilities
Intellectual Disability
Male
Mass Screening - methods
Pandemics
public health
SARS-CoV-2
School districts
School Health Services
Schools
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Special Schools
Students
Students - psychology
Students with disabilities
Tests
communication strategies
intellectual and developmental disabilities
COVID‐19
public health
infectious diseases
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Summary:Background Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) were disproportionately impacted by the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study's goal was to assess the effectiveness of 2 messaging strategies on participation in SARS‐CoV‐2 weekly testing. Methods Cluster randomized trials were conducted at 2 school systems, the special school district (SSD) and Kennedy Krieger Institute (Kennedy) to assess messaging strategies, general versus enhanced, to increase weekly screening for SARS‐CoV‐2. Testing was offered to staff and students from November 23, 2020 to May 26, 2022. The primary outcomes were percentage of students and staff consented weekly and percentage of study participants who had a test performed weekly. Generalized estimating equation models were utilized to evaluate the primary outcomes. Results Increases in enrollment and testing occurred during study start up, the beginning of school years, and following surges in both systems. No statistical difference was observed in the primary outcomes between schools receiving standard versus enhanced messaging. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity Frequent and consistent communication is vital for families and staff. Weekly screening testing within schools is possible and highlighted the importance of utilizing equitable protocols to provide important testing to students with IDD. Conclusion Enhanced messaging strategies did not increase the number of participants enrolled or the percentage of enrolled participants being tested on a weekly basis.
Bibliography:This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award numbers 3P50HD103525‐01S1 and OT2HD107556, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) under Award number UL1TR002345, and the Siteman Comprehensive Cancer Center and NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA091842. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The COMPASS‐T project is a joint partnership between the Washington University in St. Louis Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (WUIDDRC), the University of Missouri‐Kansas City Institute of Human Development, the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland, and the Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) in Missouri. Other key collaborators include the Brown School Evaluation Center, the Health Communication Research Laboratory, and the Institute for Informatics at Washington University. This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health through the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics ‐ Underserved Populations (RADx‐UP) Program (P50HD103525‐01S1). We thank the Genome Technology Access Center at the McDonnell Genome Institute of the Washington University School of Medicine for running the SARS‐CoV‐2 saliva testing, as well as the Department of Pathology and Immunology for access to their CAP/CLIA laboratory and their expertise in development of the saliva SARS‐CoV‐2 test.
Supporting the Well‐Being of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities during the COVID‐19 Pandemic. AUCD 2022 November 2022. Weekly COVID‐19 screening testing in students and staff of schools for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) during the Delta surge. Pediatric Academic Societies 2022 April 2022. Supporting the Well‐Being of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities during the COVID‐19 Pandemic. AUCD 2021 Virtual Conference November 2021.
A complete list of study group members appears in the Appendix.
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ISSN:0022-4391
1746-1561
1746-1561
DOI:10.1111/josh.13448