O2123: Connecting the Dots: Results from Year 2 of School Attendance Data Sharing Pilot Between an Educational System and Pediatric Primary Care Practice

Purpose/Objectives: Education, as a social determinant of health, is dependent on school attendance and linked to long-term health and economic outcomes. During the 2022-2023 school year, 44% of students in Washington, DC were chronically absent- defined as missing ≥10% of school days. Since 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics has encouraged pediatric providers to assess for school attendance patterns and barriers during routine encounters with families. Assessing and alleviating health and social barriers to school attendance may help prevent future absences.

Integration of attendance data from the educational system into pediatric practice is novel. This second-year pilot program integrated school attendance data into three pediatric primary care practices in Washington, DC to help mitigate absences by connecting families to medical and social resources as needed.

Design/Methods: An electronic health information exchange (CRISP DC) was used to share attendance data between 14 schools (12 elementary and 2 middle/high) and the three pediatric academic practices. A FERPA-compliant, opt-in, data-sharing consent was distributed at the schools during the annual enrollment process. CRISP DC matched consented students with the practice panel and sent school attendance, hospitalization, and emergency department visit data to the practice monthly. Continuous PDSA cycles were used to implement ongoing program changes. Staff conducted phone outreach based on tiered need to families. Medical, behavioral, and social needs were assessed during the outreach and families were connected to medical appointments and other community resources. A chart review was completed to identify the last visit to the practice.

Results: 200 of consented students were matched to the practice’s patient panels during the second year of the pilot. 352 phone call attempts to student families were conducted, with a 65% successful connection rate. Almost 2,700 minutes were spent on outreach resulting in 73 referrals for appointments and/or social resources. 33% of referrals were to primary care and 26% addressed food insecurity (Figure 1). Chart review revealed that 64% of students who were chronically absent were up to date with their annual physical examinations (Table 1).

Conclusion/Discussion: It is critical to identify children at-risk for chronic absenteeism to prevent furthering of inequities. Data sharing between schools and pediatric practices is viable strategy to identify children at-risk for chronic absenteeism and an important way to assess medical, behavioral, or social barriers that may prohibit school attendance. The results of this pilot highlight the importance of normalizing the integration of attendance discussions in pediatric primary care. Next steps include additional PDSA cycles to support primary care providers in assessing attendance during visits with families as many of the students who have barriers to attendance present to their primary care practice throughout the year.