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Purpose

The primary goal of this study is to determine the most effective SARS-CoV-2 testing strategy for successful return of in-person school in the under-served communities of St. Louis. Regular screening testing has been recommended by the CDC as an additive mitigation strategy for in-person schools in areas of high community transmission. We will compare the effectiveness and acceptance of two different school-based testing strategies among students and school staff (symptomatic testing only versus weekly surveillance testing plus symptomatic testing), measuring school-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission through a cluster randomized trial.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 0 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • A student or staff in one of the five school districts. - Household members of a student or staff member in the five school districts.

Exclusion Criteria

  • People not affiliated with the school.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Health Services Research
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Weekly Screening testing plus symptomatic testing 		Among 16 middle and high schools, 8 will be randomized to offer students and staff weekly SARS-CoV-2 testing. Additionally, these schools will offer testing for symptomatic students, staff, household members in all age groups.
  • Other: Screening testing strategy
    The intervention we are evaluating is the use of weekly screening testing among students and staff.
Active Comparator
Symptomatic testing 		All 16 schools will have testing available for individuals that have symptoms or need a test for other reasons.
  • Other: No screening testing strategy
    a group of schools will not receive screening testing.

Recruiting Locations

More Details

NCT ID
NCT04875520
Status
Completed
Sponsor
Washington University School of Medicine

Detailed Description

We will complete a cluster randomized trial to compare the incidence of school-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission between weekly screening testing of students and school staff versus testing only symptomatic students and staff. In this proposal, 16 middle and high schools from five school districts in the St. Louis metropolitan area will be cluster randomized to screening testing plus symptomatic testing versus symptomatic testing alone. The symptomatic testing will be provided to the entire school community as well as household members of students and staff. The second Aim will evaluate existing mitigation strategies utilized in schools and the rate of school-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission by defining the mitigation strategies utilized in participating schools through survey tools developed with CDC and their impact on school-based COVID-19 transmission and quantifying the rate of COVID-19 transmission in schools and the impact of this transmission on households through extensive interviews and testing of contacts and household members. Our 3rd Aim involves partnering with community-based organizations to specify and address the social, ethical, and behavioral implications of in-person schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 testing on the school and community. Listening sessions will be utilized to understand barriers and facilitators to testing, ethical concerns of the community in research participation, and the behavioral health impact of lack of in-person schooling.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.