Research by The ABC Science Collaborative has been published in a recent supplement in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. The ABC Science Collaborative used data gathered in the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic to measure the impacts on children’s mental health, school attendance, and health care use. Conclusions from this research can also inform pediatric care in the future.

The supplement, published on December 26, 2023, contains nine articles, four of which were authored by The ABC Science Collaborative researchers.

Two articles examine how COVID-19 infection data collected by schools can supplement community data that may be lacking due to self-testing and self-reporting. The third article measures how North Carolina children enrolled in Medicaid interacted with health care throughout the pandemic. Rates of well-visits and immunizations decreased during the pandemic period. The fourth article inspected trends in emergency pediatric visits related to mental or behavioral health. During the early pandemic, such visits accounted for increased proportions of emergency care. Throughout pandemic recovery, it’s critical to understand the pediatric populations most affected and increase access to preventative mental health care.

“These publications represent important analyses of data showing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children,” said Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University and co-chair of The ABC Science Collaborative. “They also provide insights on how schools and health care providers can respond to these impacts and prepare for future public health emergencies.”

The four articles by The ABC Science Collaborative are listed below.

The ABC Science Collaborative articles:

• Leveraging School Infection Data to Address Community COVID-19 Data Gaps
• School Absenteeism as a Marker for Community COVID-19 Rates
• Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Preventive Health Care Among North Carolina Children Enrolled in Medicaid
• Trends in Pediatric Emergency and Inpatient Healthcare Use for Mental and Behavioral Health Among North Carolinians During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic