Prevalence and Factors associated with fever related school absenteeism among school going children in Abim district North Eastern Uganda
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Date
2026
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Gulu university
Abstract
Background: Fever-related school absenteeism remain a major a public health challenge globally affecting school going children worldwide. Evidence on school absenteeism largely focuses on malaria, with limited evidence on the prevalence and determinants of fever-related school absenteeism in rural North-Eastern Uganda. This study therefore aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with fever-related school absenteeism among school going children in Abim district, North Eastern Uganda.
Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 355 school going children aged 10-17 years in upper primary (P.5-P.7) in 5 selected primary schools in Abim district “between March and April 2025”. Data was collected using semi- structured questionnaires in English or Leb-thur. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling. Information on socio-demographic characteristic was collected. Descriptive statistics and modified Poisson regression analyses was performed using STATA 18.0. Association between independent variables and fever related school absenteeism was reported as adjusted prevalence ratio with corresponding Confidence interval and p<0.05 considered statically significant
Results: A total of 355 participants with a mean age of 14 (SD 1.5) years were enrolled. More than half of participants were males (56%, n=199) and most of the learners 39% (n=136) were in P.5. Majority of the participants, 60.56% (n=215) missed school due to fever. Factors independently associated with fever-related school absenteeism were being in primary seven (aPR: 1.33, 95% CI=1.07-1.66, p=0.009), and learners who reported to their parents first whenever they had fever (aPR: 1.49, 95% CI=1.25-1.78, p= <0.001) whereas learners who have access to clean and safe drinking water at school were 0.79 times less likely to missed school due to fever (aPR: 0.79, 95% CI=0.62-0.99, p=0.048).
Conclusion: Fever-related school absenteeism was common among learners in Abim District, highlighting fever as an important barrier to regular school attendance. Absenteeism was associated with learners’ class level, who they informed first when they had fever, and access to clean and safe drinking water at school. Schools and stakeholders should strengthen health education, access to safe water drinking water at school, and parental involvement in the timely management of fever. Strengthening school health monitoring and data quality can enhance planning, timely interventions and help reduce fever-related school absenteeism
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Keywords
Fever-related school absenteeism, school-going children, Abim District, North Eastern Uganda