The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of prekindergarten to grade 12 schools and an inequitable return to full-time in-person learning. In response, Tufts University partnered with Medford and Somerville public school districts to reopen schools through the implementation of a pooled testing program for students and staff. Building off of these two established partnerships, and with the addition of Chelsea Public Schools, our team set out to examine the attitudes and perceptions regarding sources of COVID-19 information and mitigation strategies of parents of PK-12 students in three diverse Massachusetts school districts.

In “Communication Disparities and Trusted Sources of COVID-19 Information in Massachusetts School Districts,” we sought to provide insights for school administrators to shape and implement public health policies within their districts. We surveyed parents about their attitudes, beliefs, and trusted sources of information surrounding COVID-19 and mitigation strategies. Using an electronic survey distributed by school administrators to parents and guardians in November and December 2021 through pre-established school district contact lists and preferred methods of communication, we examined parental attitudes and beliefs regarding mitigation strategies for COVID-19 (surveillance testing, masking, and vaccination), trusted information sources about COVID-19, and preferred methods of communication from schools.

We found that testing, masks, and vaccination were supported by >80% of parents/guardians across all three districts. However, there were statistically significant differences between school districts regarding participation in testing programs, implications of a child testing positive, vaccination of young children, communication preferences, and trusted sources of information.

Read Our Article in the March Issue of JPHMP

Now, five years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and several years on from the initial COVID-19 testing programs we helped establish, it is clear that the lessons learned from those early collaborations have left a lasting impact. Our goal as public health practitioners, beyond this study, was to identify barriers and operational strategies in an attempt to facilitate an equitable and safe return to in-person learning. The ability of academic institutions, public health departments, and public schools to work together in real-time during an unprecedented public health emergency demonstrated the power of coordinated, multisector partnerships. As we reflect on this experience, it’s evident that these partnerships laid the foundation for future preparedness. Moving forward, it is critical that these entities not only maintain but continue to deepen their collaboration, ensuring a more resilient, adaptive response to future health crises. Infectious disease is no stranger to public school systems. As evidenced by the current measles outbreaks occurring in Texas and the broader uncertainty of America’s public health infrastructure, it is crucial that schools can serve as a place of trust and scientifically backed intervention for all of the populations they serve, and particularly marginalized populations that face more barriers to care. The work done during the pandemic highlighted the importance of shared resources, data, and expertise — elements that must be preserved and expanded in anticipation of future, and current, public health challenges. To learn more, please check out our full publication available here.

Author profile

Anna L. Thompson, Bradley S. Davis, Augusta Rohrbach, Jonathan M. Davis, Paola Sebastiani, Alice M. Tang

As two recent master’s degree graduate students, we are grateful to have had the leadership and support of Dr. Alice Tang, Dr. Jonathan Davis, Dr. Paola Sebastiani, and Dr. Augusta Rohrbach throughout our time at Tufts University.

Anna L. Thompson, M.Phil, and Bradley S. Davis, MPH, both completed their master’s degrees at the end of 2020 and joined Tufts University in 2021 as research administrators during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this role, they helped to set up pooled COVID-19 testing in the Medford and Somerville Public School districts to support the safe reopening of local schools. Following the establishment of pooled COVID-19 testing in these communities, they supported the development and execution of this study. Anna now works at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) as a Senior Research Project Coordinator and Bradley is at MaineHealth as a Program Management Specialist.