Utilizing Student Health and Academic Data: A County-Level Demonstration Project

Students with chronic health conditions miss more school days than their peers and are at increased risk for performing worse on standardized tests and not completing a high school degree. University-based researchers, state government leaders, and a local county school system collaborated to use existing health and academic data to (1) evaluate the strength of the relationship between health status and school performance (absenteeism, grades) and (2) describe the health status of students who are chronically absent. Analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, negative binomial regression models, and estimated marginal means. The most common health conditions among the 3,663 kindergarten through Grade 12 students were ADD (attention deficit disorder)/ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), asthma, migraine headaches, mental health conditions, and eczema/psoriasis/skin disorders. After controlling for covariates, having asthma or a mental health diagnosis was positively associated with absences; and having an ADD/ADHD or mental health diagnosis was negatively associated with GPA (grade point average). Chronically absent students had significantly lower GPAs, and a higher number of health conditions than other students. The success of this demonstration project encourages strengthening existing collaborations and establishing new multidisciplinary partnerships to analyze existing data sources to learn more about the relationship between student health and academic achievement. Moreover, connecting health status to academic achievement might be a chief tactic for advocating for additional resources to improve the care and management of chronic disease conditions among students.