ERIC Number: EJ1429621
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-1498
EISSN: EISSN-1534-5157
School-Based Health Services and Chronic Absenteeism: Evidence from Hawai'i Public High Schools
Mark Murphy; Jennifer Neely
High School Journal, v106 n3 p208-231 2023
Chronic absenteeism is a widespread and troubling phenomenon affecting high school students nationwide. Existing research identifies an inverse link between student health and chronic absenteeism. Illness is a top cause of student absence, suggesting that school-based health services may play an important role in mitigating chronic absenteeism. Since 2014, a school-based health program which provides school nurses has been introduced in certain public high schools in Hawai'i. Using a merged panel of school-level directory, enrollment, chronic absenteeism, graduation rate, and program participation data from the 2010-11 to 2018-19 academic years, we estimate how the program impacted high school chronic absenteeism. Using a synthetic control method approach, we find that school-based health programs reduced overall chronic absenteeism two years and three years following program adoption. Sensitivity analyses (i.e., including leave one out exercises and alternative combinations of predictor variables) highlight the robustness of these findings. These results demonstrate the potential for school-based health services to reduce chronic absenteeism among high school students.
Descriptors: School Health Services, Public Schools, High School Students, Diseases, Program Effectiveness, School Nurses, Attendance Patterns, COVID-19, Pandemics, Program Implementation
University of North Carolina Press. 116 South Boundary Street, P.O. Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288. Tel: 800-848-6224; Tel: 919-966-7449; Fax: 919-962-2704; e-mail: uncpress@unc.edu; Web site: https://ed.unc.edu/high-school-journal/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hawaii
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A