Professionals' and Students' Perceived Needs for an Online Supportive Application for Reducing School Absence and...

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Health Informatics
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• The Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students (MASS) intervention in the Netherlands aims to reduce medical absenteeism and school dropout.
• Current MASS intervention lacks optimal support for professionals in monitoring students and fostering student autonomy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the perceived needs of professionals and students for an online supportive application.
• To explore how such an application can monitor and reduce absenteeism and stimulate student autonomy and school reintegration.

Main Methods:

• Concept mapping sessions were conducted with 23 professionals and 27 secondary school students.
• Data were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering with Ariadne 3.0 software.
• Concept maps were reclustered and interpreted by four researchers.

Main Results:

• Professionals prioritized accessible contact, student support, motivation, monitoring, and information exchange.
• Students emphasized improved teacher-student communication, respect, interprofessional communication, and guidance on missed academic content.
• Both groups agreed on the need for better communication and support for students dealing with medical absenteeism.

Conclusions:

• Professionals and students showed positive reception towards an online application for managing medical absenteeism.
• An eHealth or mobile health (mHealth) application could enhance student autonomy and positively impact medical absenteeism rates.
• The findings highlight the potential of digital tools to improve student well-being and academic continuity.