Analysis on absenteeism among primary students in rural area based on network report system

Objective To describe the occurrence of absenteeism of primary students in rural areas and analyze the distribution of absenteeism by time, people and place. Methods Web based absenteeism surveillance system supported by European Union project were established in two counties of Jiangxi Province, which covered 63 primary schools and 31 554 students. All absenteeism daily reports were collected from the system and analyzed by appropriate software. Results From 1st April, 2012 to 31st March, 2014, 18 407 absent records were reported and the absence rate was 0.16%. The major cause of absenteeism was illness (74.32%) and the absenteeism rate was 0.12%. The absence rate of boy students was higher than girl students and declined with grade increasing. And the absence rate due to illness reached its peak in spring and fall, the major reasons for absence were fever and cold which accounted for 64.25%. Conclusions The absenteeism surveillance system should be enhanced especially during the reversal of seasons and epidemic of diseases. The health education should be strengthened to improve school hygiene recognition of their parents and teachers.