Playing It Safe: Training School and Public Health Staff on Infectious Disease Prevention and Response for Student Athletes

Abstract

This article highlights the vital roles of school and public health staff in protecting the health and well-being of student athletes through an infectious disease prevention and response training program. Developed by the New Jersey Department of Health’s Daycares, Schools, and Higher Education Team, the multicomponent school health training targeted K–12 school nurses, athletic staff, and public health professionals. Informed by statewide school sport outbreak data and athletic staff interviews, the training was then piloted with a local school nurse association. Training topics included outbreak trends, common sport-related infectious diseases, transmission, reporting, documentation, exclusion timeframes, communication strategies, prevention, and case studies. To improve accessibility, live virtual sessions were held on three dates from October to December 2023. After each session, attendees completed evaluations and earned education credits. The state-led team analyzed the evaluation results to better support the school and public health community and created on-demand and in-person trainings.