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. 2023 Jul 1;152(Suppl 1):e2022060352C.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-060352C.

Building School-Academic Partnerships to Implement COVID-19 Testing in Underserved Populations

Jennifer L Goldman  1   2 , Ibukunoluwa C Kalu  3   4 , Jennifer E Schuster  1   2 , Tyler Erickson  3 , Dana Keener Mast  5 , Kanecia Zimmerman  3   4 , Daniel K Benjamin  3   4 , Luther G Kalb  6   7 , Christina Gurnett  8 , Jason G Newland  8 , Michael Sherby  8 , Maya Godambe  8 , Nidhi Shinde  8 , Treymayne Watterson  8 , Tyler Walsh  8 , John Foxe  9 , Martin Zand  9 , Stephen Dewhurst  9 , Ryan Coller  10 , Gregory P DeMuri  10 , Shannon Archuleta  11 , Linda K Ko  12   13 , Moira Inkelas  14 , Vladimir Manuel  14 , Rebecca Lee, Hyunsung Oh  15 , Vel Murugan  16 , Joanna Kramer  17 , May Okihiro  18 , Lisa Gwynn  19 , Elizabeth Pulgaron  19 , Russell McCulloh  20 , Jana Broadhurst  20 , Corinne McDaniels-Davidson  21 , Susan Kiene  21 , Eyal Oren  21 , Yelena Wu  22   23 , David W Wetter  23   24 , Tammy Stump  22 , M Alan Brookhart  25 , Alex Fist  3   4 , Emily Haroz  26
Affiliations

Building School-Academic Partnerships to Implement COVID-19 Testing in Underserved Populations

Jennifer L Goldman et al. Pediatrics. .

Abstract

Objective: In April 2021, the US government made substantial investments in students' safe return to school by providing resources for school-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation strategies, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing. However, testing uptake and access among vulnerable children and children with medical complexities remained unclear.

Methods: The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations program was established by the National Institutes of Health to implement and evaluate COVID-19 testing programs in underserved populations. Researchers partnered with schools to implement COVID-19 testing programs. The authors of this study evaluated COVID-19 testing program implementation and enrollment and sought to determine key implementation strategies. A modified Nominal Group Technique was used to survey program leads to identify and rank testing strategies to provide a consensus of high-priority strategies for infectious disease testing in schools for vulnerable children and children with medical complexities.

Results: Among the 11 programs responding to the survey, 4 (36%) included prekindergarten and early care education, 8 (73%) worked with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, and 4 focused on children with developmental disabilities. A total of 81 916 COVID-19 tests were performed. "Adapting testing strategies to meet the needs, preferences, and changing guidelines," "holding regular meetings with school leadership and staff," and "assessing and responding to community needs" were identified as key implementation strategies by program leads.

Conclusions: School-academic partnerships helped provide COVID-19 testing in vulnerable children and children with medical complexities using approaches that met the needs of these populations. Additional work is needed to develop best practices for in-school infectious disease testing in all children.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES: Dr Kalu reports funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epicenter and the NIH, and receives consultancy fees from IPEC Experts and Wayfair. Dr Zimmerman reports funding from the NIH and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr Goldman reports funding from the NIH. Dr Schuster reports funding from the NIH, CDC, and Merck. Dr Newland reports funding from NIH, Pfizer, and Merck. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Modified NGT process.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Difference between the number of students participating in a COVID-19 testing program compared with the number of students eligible for the program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . School testing for COVID-19. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/sc.... Accessed July 20, 2022
    1. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . ELC reopening schools: support for COVID-19 screening testing to reopen and keep schools operating safely. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dpei/elc/covid-response/index.html. Accessed July 20, 2022
    1. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services . NCDHHS selects state vendors to support K-12 schools implementing COVID-19 testing this fall. Available at: https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2021/08/05/ncdhhs-selects-sta.... Accessed July 19, 2022
    1. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services . Missouri DHSS and DESE bring pooled COVID-19 testing to K-12 classrooms in partnership with Concentric by Ginkgo. Available at: https://health.mo.gov/news/newsitem/uuid/45e76509-1a4e-4166-8a5c-ba82ed8.... Accessed July 20, 2022
    1. Cernich AN, Lee S, Bianchi DW. Building the evidence for safe return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics. 2022;149(12 Suppl 2):e2021054268B - PMC - PubMed

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