Updated: 2/09/2010
Health Watch Summary
In the fall of 2009, Clermont County General Health District launched the school absenteeism surveillance pilot project, HealthWatch. Many schools throughout Clermont County have been participating in the project, providing daily reports on student and staff absenteeism. Additionally, one of the primary goals of the HealthWatch system was to obtain a daily snapshot of the health status of students and staff in the school environment, particularly the presence of ILI (influenza-like illness). By following a case definition, HealthWatch reporters have documented the burden of ILI within each school’s population. This reporting, in turn, has allowed the Health District to collaborate with individual schools to investigate unexpected increases in ILI, and to implement tools and recommendations to educate students, staff and parents on illness prevention. With multiple school districts participating in the project, the Health District has also been able to better assess the presence of influenza-like illness among the school-aged population throughout the county.
A summary of the data schools within your district submitted through the HealthWatch system, beginning with your school’s initial report and extending through the end of 2009, has recently been completed by the Health District. This data has been mailed to school superintendents, principals and district nurses of all the schools that have participated. The data, in graph format, depicts student absenteeism, incidence of ILI (influenza-like illness), and school nurse visits both as actual counts and as a percentage of each school’s total enrollment. Please check with your superintendent, principal or school nurse if you would like to review this data.
Since December, the incidence of influenza-like illness has been in decline, causing some schools to contact the Health District regarding the need for ongoing reporting into the HealthWatch system. Although HealthWatch was geared this year to specifically assess the presence of ILI in the school population, the overall goal of the project is to have an ongoing view of absenteeism and health status amongst students. With that in mind, the Health District would encourage schools to continue to report into the system. The data collected will help establish a baseline of the impact of illness on absenteeism, and promote more rapid identification of unexpected increases in these measures. This information, in turn, can be used to increase collaboration between the Health District and schools to address health issues.
Currently the Health District is considering several improvements to the functionality of the HealthWatch system for the benefit of the Health District and schools. Of particular interest is to expand the category of reasons for absence due to illness beyond ILI, thus allowing identification of other health trends within the school population. Additionally, the Health District would like to provide a mechanism to allow schools more rapid feedback on the data they enter into the system. Please contact the Health District if you have additional suggestions for changes or improvements.
Thank you for your ongoing participation in the HealthWatch project. If you have questions regarding your school’s summary report, or have any other questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
Updated: 2/9/2010