This US study highlights the strong link between children’s health needs and school absence. Looking at a nationally representative sample of children aged 6–17, researchers found that students with chronic health needs were more likely to miss 11 or more days of school because of illness or injury. The risk was even higher for children who experienced both chronic health needs and other health-related social challenges, such as housing instability, food insecurity or family health needs.

The findings reinforce that illness and health needs are important drivers of school absence and that attendance cannot be understood separately from a child’s health and circumstances. The authors suggest that targeted support from health and education services could help improve both attendance and educational outcomes for students experiencing these challenges.

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