Reported sick from school: a study into addressing medical absenteeism among students

This dissertation examines the M@ZL (Medical Advising to Students Absent Due to Illness) method, which is found to reduce absence due to illness among vmbo (lower secondary professional education) students by arranging good care, coaching and educational adjustments, if necessary. The study proves that a little less than half of the vmbo students regularly absent due to illness have been diagnosed with illnesses such as asthma, migraine, glandular fever or ADHD. Two-thirds of this group experience concurrent problems at home or at school. In more than half of the students, absence due to illness is caused by psychological or physical symptoms often combined with problems at home or at school. A personalised approach from a biopsychosocial perspective is shown to be necessary to actually help individual students. Tutors indicate that they need additional training in order for them to be able to discuss regular absence due to illness with parents and students.