Developing Risk Assessment Tools for Viruses in School

In an interview featured in the first issue of The Respiratory Report, a quarterly pulmonology research newsletter powered by the American Lung Association Research Foundation, Amanda Wilson, PhD, assistant professor in Environmental Health Sciences at the Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona, discussed her team’s research into practical tools that schools can use to mitigate the spread of respiratory viral diseases.

Specifically, Wilson and colleagues are aiming to improve schools’ ability to combat respiratory viral diseases, especially for vulnerable populations like students with asthma, by creating gauges for high risk and intervention successes.

“Our main focus in this is to improve not only the health of all students, but especially students who are at high risk of really negative outcomes if they are having respiratory viral infections in schools, such as asthmatic students,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s team is in the process of developing a risk calculator tool that school health staff can use to guide interventions and prepare for respiratory viral disease outbreaks, such as flu season, following the issues made bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tool is designed to help schools not only identify risks but also advocate for engineering controls—measures that reduce virus transmission without relying on human behavior.

“The pandemic also emphasized the fact that school health needs increasingly available and free and easy tools that they can use in decision making and intervention support,” she said.

Through surveys and focus groups with Arizona school districts, Wilson’s team has identified barriers to implementing these powerful interventions. Engineering solutions, such as improved air filters and better ventilation, are highly effective but often require significant funding. Wilson’s risk calculator is intended to quantify the potential health benefits of these measures, providing school staff with data they can use to advocate for necessary resources.

The tool also has the potential to help schools communicate with parents, a significant challenge in school health efforts.

“We’re learning from teachers that these tools could be powerful for communicating with parents,” Wilson said. The feedback suggests that if the tool could be adapted for parent-facing communication, it could improve compliance with interventions aimed at reducing respiratory viral spread.

To learn more about Wilson’s research, read her contribution to the first issue of The Respiratory Report here:

Helping Schools Calculate Respiratory Infection Risk