Enhancing K-12 School Safety During a Respiratory Viral Pandemic

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT While progress has been made since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the virus still poses a threat to school safety. There is a significant concern regarding viral transmission in K-12 schools as a result of close social interactions between children, crowded institutional environments, high risk extracurricular activities, and insufficient vaccination coverage. Children have close interactions with parents and other household members who are active in all sectors of society. Keeping K-12 schools safe is crucial to minimizing community transmission and restoring optimal societal functions. COVID-19 is unlikely to become extinct due to the emergence of new variants, rapidly waning antibodies, COVID behavioral fatigue, and low vaccination coverage. The challenges of prevention and control in K-12 schools persist, from both the current pandemic and future respiratory threats. Our study anticipates next steps of outbreak prevention and management, and the topics of study (i.e. vaccinations) are highly relevant to school safety in this or future respiratory threats (COVID, influenza). We will examine the experience of K-12 schools during the pandemic through the following aims: Aim 1: Conduct a scoping review to identify and inventory the current research and evidence quality on the impact of COVID-19 on K-12 schools Aim 2: Investigate individual stakeholder- and school administrative-level experience and concerns regarding vaccination and safety practices during the pandemic through research in local K-12 schools via stakeholder longitudinal surveys (Aim 2A) and qualitative exploratory semi-structured interviews of school administrators (Aim 2B). Aim 3: Assess the implementation of a Hardware-Assisted Bluetooth-based Infection Tracking Device (HABIT) in a high school setting through a mixed-method study. We will assess HABIT's implementation outcomes (ease of use, interface, and satisfaction, acceptability, usefulness, coherence, setting, adherence, appropriateness) in a K-12 school using qualitative focus group interviews with key stakeholders, survey responses, and HABIT device usage data. We will present both the quantitative performance metrics and the qualitative contextualized insights of HABIT implementation. The proposal is the research component of a comprehensive training plan that is designed to provide a foundation for my career as a physician-scientist through the Yale MD-PhD program. Through these aims, we seek to provide insights that are essential for developing an integrated approach to keep both children and teachers safe in the event of the current and future respiratory viral outbreaks and pandemics.