This study examines absenteeism's predictive value for respiratory diseases like influenza and COVID-19, suggesting limitations in its use for syndromic surveillance.
Key Points
Absenteeism showed a median correlation of 0.4 with influenza cases across multiple districts.
The median positive predictive value for predicting increased respiratory disease was 0.4 for influenza and 0.3 for COVID-19.
Correlations between school absenteeism and respiratory diseases were often less than 0.5, indicating inconsistency.
Standardizing absence definitions may enhance absenteeism's effectiveness in syndromic surveillance.