title: Real-time monitoring of school absenteeism to enhance disease surveillance: a pilot study of a mobile electronic reporting system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  School absenteeism is a common source of data used in syndromic surveillance, which can eventually be used for early outbreak detection. However, the absenteeism reporting system in most schools, especially in developing countries, relies on a paper-based method that limits its use for disease surveillance or outbreak detection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to develop an electronic real-time reporting system on school absenteeism for syndromic surveillance.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic (Web-based) school absenteeism reporting system was developed to embed it within the normal routine process of absenteeism reporting. This electronic system allowed teachers to update students' attendance status via mobile tablets. The data from all classes and schools were then automatically sent to a centralized database for further analysis and presentation, and for monitoring temporal and spatial patterns of absent students. In addition, the system also had a disease investigation module, which provided a link between absenteeism data from schools and local health centers, to investigate causes of fever among sick students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The electronic school absenteeism reporting system was implemented in 7 primary schools in Bangkok, Thailand, with total participation of approximately 5000 students. During May-October 2012 (first semester), the percentage of absentees varied between 1% and 10%. The peak of school absenteeism (sick leave) was observed between July and September 2012, which coincided with the peak of dengue cases in children aged 6-12 years being reported to the disease surveillance system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The timeliness of a reporting system is a critical function in any surveillance system. Web-based application and mobile technology can potentially enhance the use of school absenteeism data for syndromic surveillance and outbreak detection. This study presents the factors that determine the implementation success of this reporting system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Hygiene, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Saranath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lawpoolsri
authors.forename: Amnat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khamsiriwatchara
authors.forename: Wongwat
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liulark
authors.forename: Komchaluch
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taweeseneepitch
authors.forename: Aumnuyphan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sangvichean
authors.forename: Wiraporn
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Thongprarong
authors.forename: Jaranit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaewkungwal
authors.forename: Pratap
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Singhasivanon
keywords: absenteeism; reporting system; schools; syndromic surveillance; tablets
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