How to deal with sickness absence among primary school pupils? Adaptation of the "Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students" intervention.

Background: Missing school impacts both education and health. The purpose of this study was to address sickness absence in primary schools by adjusting the 'Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students' intervention for secondary schools. This was necessary because of fundamental differences in relation to the children's age and in the schools' organizational structure.

The Preventive Child and Youth Healthcare Service in the Netherlands: The State of the Art and Challenges Ahead.

The Netherlands has a unique system for promoting child and youth health, known as the preventive Child and Youth Healthcare service (CYH). The CYH makes an important contribution to the development and health of children and young people by offering (anticipatory) information, immunisation, and screening, identifying care needs and providing preventive support to children and their families from birth up to the age of 18 years. The CYH is offered free of charge and offers basic preventive care to all children and special preventive care to children who grow up in disadvantaged situations, such as children growing up in poverty or in a family where one of the members has a chronic health condition.

Process Evaluation of the Child and Youth Healthcare Intervention 'Medical Advice for Sick-Reported Students in Primary School' (MASS-PS).

School attendance is crucial for the development of a child. Sickness absence is the most common type of absenteeism and can be a red flag for underlying problems. To address sickness absence, the intervention Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students for Primary School (MASS-PS) was recently developed.

Stakeholder perspectives on primary school pupils and sickness absence - exploring opportunities and challenges.

School absenteeism and its underlying causes can have negative effects on the cognitive, psychosocial and health development of a child. Research in primary education shows high rates of sickness absence. Many stakeholders are involved in addressing school absenteeism, including primary school professionals, child and youth healthcare physicians, school attendance officers and parents.

Professionals' and Students' Perceived Needs for an Online Supportive Application for Reducing School Absence and Stimulating Reintegration: Concept Mapping Study.

Background: To limit students' medical absenteeism and premature school dropout in the Netherlands, the Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students (MASS) intervention was developed to enhance collaboration between students, parents, school, and health care professionals. MASS reduces medical absenteeism. However, it does not yet optimally support professionals in monitoring students nor automatically stimulating students' autonomy regarding their situation.

The prevalence of sickness absence among primary school pupils - reason to be worried?

Background: Absence from school can lead to lower educational achievement and poor health. Little is known about school absence in primary education. This study's first aim was to examine the prevalence of school absence in primary schools and differing types of absence, including sickness absence.

Addressing sickness absence among adolescents and young adults: an evaluation of the Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students intervention.

Background: Sickness absence is associated with lower school achievements and early school leaving. The Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students (MASS) intervention is a proactive school-based intervention focused primarily on early identification and reduction of sickness absence. This study used a program evaluation framework to evaluate the MASS intervention among intermediate vocational education students and Youth Health Care professionals.

Young adults' self-sufficiency in daily life: the relationship with contextual factors and health indicators.

Background: Certain factors, such as depressive symptoms and binge drinking, may be linked to young adults' ability to attain an acceptable level of functioning on specific life-domains (i.e. self-sufficiency).

School Absenteeism, Health-Related Quality of Life [HRQOL] and Happiness among Young Adults Aged 16-26 Years.

This study examines the association between school absenteeism, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and happiness among young adults aged 16-26 years attending vocational education. Cross-sectional data from a survey among 676 young adults were analyzed. School absenteeism was measured by the self-reported number of sick days in the past eight weeks and hours of truancy in the past four weeks.

Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students (MASS) in intermediate vocational education schools: design of a controlled before-and-after study.

Background: School absenteeism, including medical absenteeism, is associated with early school dropout and may result in physical, mental, social and work-related problems in later life. Especially at intermediate vocational education schools, high rates of medical absenteeism are found. In 2012 the Dutch intervention 'Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students' (MASS), previously developed for pre-vocational secondary education, was adjusted for intermediate vocational education schools.

Towards a Better Understanding of Sickness Absence in Adolescence: A Qualitative Study among Dutch Intermediate Vocational Education Students.

An adequate approach to sickness absence can reduce school dropout which is a major problem in Intermediate Vocational Education (IVE). This practice-based study explores the sickness absence reasons and factors influencing reporting the sickness, from a student's perspective. Semistructured interviews were held until saturation.

Addressing medical absenteeism in pre-vocational secondary students: effectiveness of a public health intervention, using a quasi-experimental design.

Background: Students' health and school absenteeism affect educational level, with adverse effects on their future health. This interdependence is reflected in medical absenteeism. In the Netherlands, a public health intervention has been developed to address medical absenteeism in pre-vocational secondary education.

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.