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. 2021 Oct;37(5):396-403.
doi: 10.1177/1059840519875506. Epub 2019 Sep 12.

Missed Work Among Caregivers of Children With a High Body Mass Index: Child, Parent, and Household Characteristics

Jiwoo Lee  1 , Martha Y Kubik  2 , Jayne A Fulkerson  1
Affiliations

Missed Work Among Caregivers of Children With a High Body Mass Index: Child, Parent, and Household Characteristics

Jiwoo Lee et al. J Sch Nurs. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

An underexamined consequence of childhood obesity is caregivers' missed work attributed to child absence from school due to a health condition. This secondary analysis (N = 123) reported the frequency of missed work among caregivers of children with a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 75th percentile and examined associations with select child, parent, and household characteristics. Caregivers missed work 1.3 (SD = 1.2) times in the past year with 41% reporting 2 or more times. A child visiting a health-care provider 2 or more times in the past year and parent perception of their child's health as good/fair/poor were significantly associated with caregivers' missing work 2 or more times in a year (OR = 5.8 and OR = 3.0, respectively). A significant association between children's physical and psychosocial well-being and caregivers' missed work emphasizes the school nurse role working with children with high BMI and families to address student absenteeism and caregivers' missed work.

Keywords: BMI; elementary; missed work; school absence; school nursing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest disclosures: There are no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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