Attitudes towards Addressing Medical Absenteeism of Students: A Qualitative Study among Principals and Special Education Needs Coordinators in Dutch Secondary Schools.

Background: Reducing school absenteeism benefits the health and educational opportunities of young people. The Dutch intervention Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students (abbreviated as MASS) was developed to address school absenteeism due to sickness reporting, also called medical absenteeism. This study is part of a research project on the effectiveness of MASS and explores factors that influence the implementation and dissemination of the intervention, from schools' perspectives.