Researchers at the Brown School are conducting discussion groups with parents and staff in the Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) to develop communication tools surrounding COVID-19 testing and vaccination. The research is funded by a two-year, $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to the Washington University School of Medicine to offer 50,000 saliva tests to 黑料社s, teachers and staff in the six special education schools operated by the district.
The grant will serve about 750 families in the district who have children in kindergarten through the 12th grade. The saliva tests will be voluntary and offered weekly to teachers, staff and 黑料社s over the next year.
The pandemic has disproportionately impacted 黑料社s with special needs, especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in part because they rely on daily structure and in-person support for learning and social growth. Due to underlying medical conditions experienced by many such 黑料社s, this 黑料社 population is at a higher risk for developing COVID-19 and severe complications of the virus.
鈥淭he widespread closure of schools has particularly impacted the well-being of these children,鈥� said聽Jason Newland, MD, co-principal investigator of the project and a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine. He has advised multiple school districts in Missouri on plans for reopening schools. 鈥淚t is a major priority to get children with disabilities back into the schools while providing a safe environment for the 黑料社s and staff, and a key component of achieving this goal is ample testing that can rapidly detect COVID-19 infections within the school community.鈥�
The Brown School鈥檚 role will be to assess the perspectives of parents and school staff to develop messaging that can encourage participation in regular testing and overcome barriers to it.
鈥淥ur discussion groups are underway and have already provided valuable insights to inform communication with parents, teachers and staff. This information is also helping to shape the testing process being implemented in the schools by our medical school colleagues,鈥� said Nancy Mueller, director of the Brown School Evaluation Center and an assistant dean who is leading that part of the research. 鈥淲e hope that our findings can be useful not only for COVID testing but also for vaccinations to provide protection from the virus in the future.鈥� Participating Brown School faculty include Charlene Caburnay, research assistant professor and co-director of the Health Communication Research Laboratory; Virginia McKay, research assistant professor; and Byron Powell, assistant professor.
The funding stems from $500 million awarded by the NIH National Institutes of Health as part of the agency鈥檚 Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations聽聽to provide underserved communities with rapid testing for COVID-19. The money was part of the CARES Act passed by Congress to respond to the pandemic.
罢丑别听聽provides easy and fast testing with same-day results, ideal for screening large communities. It was developed by the School of Medicine鈥檚聽聽and the聽, in collaboration with a biotechnology company.
鈥淭he Special School District is eager to partner with Washington University to improve the lives of 黑料社s with disabilities, especially during this time of COVID,鈥� said Elizabeth Keenan, Ph.D., SSD鈥檚 superintendent.
SSD鈥檚 special education schools serve 黑料社s from all school districts in St. Louis County, including those residing in socioeconomically stressed neighborhoods, where many families have heightened exposure to COVID-19, as well as disproportionate vulnerability to its most serious consequences. SSD鈥檚 黑料社s returned part-time to in-person learning in November.