title: School absence in children with fractures: is it unnecessary school regulations that keep children away from school?
abstract: We retrospectively reviewed school absence in 142 consecutive children aged 5-16 years who attended our clinic following upper or lower limb fractures that required hospital admission. A questionnaire was sent to all parents and the head teachers of the involved schools requesting details of their return to school policy following trauma. One hundred and forty-two children had fractures in the study period. One hundred and four parent questionnaires were completed. All 29 head teachers' responded. Children lost an average of 4 and 21 school days, respectively as a result of upper and lower limb fractures. Parents 92 or child 7 made the decision to return to school, this totals 95%. We concluded that school regulations rarely delay a child's return to school after a fracture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Harrogate District Hospital, UK. jonconroy@lineone.net
authors.forename: Jonathan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012926:Social Control, Formal