Consequences of school closures due to COVID-19 in DRC, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda.

Autor:	Ndejjo R; Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Tusubiira AK; Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda., Kiwanuka SN; Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Bosonkie M; Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo., Bamgboye EA; Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria., Diallo I; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Amadou Hampaté Ba, Dakar, Senegal., Kabwama SN; Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda., Egbende L; Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo., Afolabi RF; Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria., Leye MMM; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal., Namuhani N; Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Kashiya Y; Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo., Bello S; Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria., Babirye Z; Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Adebowale AS; Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria., Sougou M; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal., Monje F; Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Kizito S; Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Dairo MD; Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria., Bassoum O; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal., Namale A; Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Seck I; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal., Fawole OI; Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria., Mapatano MA; Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo., Wanyenze RK; Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	PLOS global public health [PLOS Glob Public Health] 2023 Oct 16; Vol. 3 (10), pp. e0002452. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 16 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pgph.0002452
Abstrakt:	In 2020 and 2021, Governments across the globe instituted school closures to reduce social interaction and interrupt COVID-19 transmission. We examined the consequences of school closures due to COVID-19 across four sub-Saharan African countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda. We conducted a qualitative study among key informants including policymakers, school heads, students, parents, civil society representatives, and local leaders. The assessment of the consequences of school closures was informed by the Diffusion of Innovations theory which informed the interview guide and analysis. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Across the four countries, schools were totally closed for 120 weeks and partially closed for 48 weeks. School closures led to: i) Desirable and anticipated consequences: enhanced adoption of online platforms and mass media for learning and increased involvement of parents in their children's education. ii) Desirable and unanticipated consequences: improvement in information, communication, and technology (ICT) infrastructure in schools, development and improvement of computer skills, and created an opportunity to take leave from hectic schedules. iii) Undesirable anticipated consequences: inadequate education continuity among students, an adjustment in academic schedules and programmes, and disrupted student progress and grades. iv) Undesirable unanticipated: increase in sexual violence including engaging in transactional sex, a rise in teenage pregnancy, and school dropouts, demotivation of teachers due to reduced incomes, and reduced school revenues. v) Neutral consequences: engagement in revenue-generating activities, increased access to phones and computers among learners, and promoted less structured learning. The consequences of school closures for COVID-19 control were largely negative with the potential for both short-term and far-reaching longer-term consequences. In future pandemics, careful consideration of the type and duration of education closure measures and examination of their potential consequences in the short and long term is important before deploying them. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. (Copyright: © 2023 Ndejjo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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