Table 3.
Top ten research priority questions on child and adolescent health ranked by research priority score
| Research priorities on child and adolescent health | Research priority scores |
|---|---|
| 1. How can routine vaccination services for children be sustained/improved during the COVID-19 pandemic? |
0.95 |
| 2. What are the effective and safe strategies for in-class education during the COVID-19 pandemic? What is the attack rate within schools, and what interventions (eg, face masks, physical distancing, hand disinfection/washing, etc.) are effective for prevention of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools, by age/school year and by type of school (eg, day vs boarding)? |
0.94 |
| 3. What are the most effective strategies for communication about the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection to adolescents and young adults? |
0.93 |
| 4. What are the protective factors, including breastfeeding/feeding practices, maternal vaccination against severe COVID-19 disease in infants, children, and adolescents (0-19 y), and do these differ by age? |
0.92 |
| 5. What is the impact of comorbidities (eg, asthma, diabetes, undernutrition, overweight or obesity, HIV-1 exposure or HIV-1 infection, etc.) in children and adolescents (0-19 y) with SARS-CoV-2 infection on development of disease and on its clinical severity and outcome? |
0.91 |
| 6. What is the effect of reopening schools on SARS-CoV-2 transmission among different age groups in the general population (based on real-life data)? |
0.91 |
| 7. What is the sensitivity and specificity of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing in children? |
0.90 |
| 8. What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential child health services (both at a community level and facility level)? |
0.90 |
| 9. What are the best risk-stratification tools (eg, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness algorithm, biomarkers, clinical scores, etc.) to triage sick children with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 disease, and with sufficiently good performance to predict the severity and outcome? |
0.88 |
| 10. What is the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in breastfed vs non-breastfed infants? | 0.88 |