More students are attending school, but the challenge remains to prevent illness and promote learning

 By Dennis Archambault

It isn’t too much of a stretch to call chronic school absenteeism a public health problem. When you look at the root causes — the social drivers of health as a result of poverty, lack of routine care for chronic diseases like asthma, and access to mental health services — there is evidence that kids aren’t just skipping school to go on a lark.

The good news is that Michigan has done an effective job reducing absenteeism, but still ranks seventh among states for chronic absenteeism.

One stark indicator of poverty is that 72 percent of students chronically absent in Wayne County schools during the 2022-23 school year were unhoused or facing homelessness. Wayne RESA created a “Families Living in Transition” website to help families navigate their housing situation.

The University of Southern California correlated emotional health issues with high absenteeism in the United States in its study “A Nation’s Children at Risk.” Students in lower grades struggling with academic pressures and student engagement, particularly boys, are likely to be hyperactive, inattentive, and aggressive. Mental health services are often not offered in schools attended by Black and lower income families but are much more likely to use them when they are offered, according to the study.

Asthma is one of the leading causes of health-related absenteeism for school-age children. According to the CDC, student-reported asthma and school health center records of asthma are associated with 1.4–18% of student absenteeism. Students with uncontrolled asthma may miss more school due to physician or hospital emergency treatment.

School-based health centers were created to provide comprehensive primary pediatric care for young students in their schools — to keep them healthy and in class, and to help schools create a healthy learning environment.

Authority Health provides school-based health services at Hope Academy in Detroit through the Hope Family Health Center, and at Adlai Stevenson School in Southfield, through the Ira Land Family Health Center. School-based health centers address many of the issues that contribute to chronic absenteeism, such as creating asthma action plans for students with asthma, and proving behavioral health services for emotional issues. School-based health centers provide comprehensive primary pediatric care for school-based students, as well as children and adolescents in neighborhoods surrounding the school. This model of primary care addresses the shortage of pediatricians, especially in lower income communities.

Students struggle to learn if they’re hungry, sick, or challenged by the effects of poverty which may cause them to not attend school or be low functioning while in school. This dilemma is best addressed through population-based strategies, such as school-based health centers. For more information on school-based health centers visit the School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan at https://scha-mi.org/.

Dennis Archambault is vice president of Public Affairs for Authority Health. Hope Family Health Center and the Ira Land Family Health Center are promoting back to school fun days this month for students in their area.