Discussion

Schools play a critical role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases to ensure the health and safety of students, staff, and the wider community. ⁶ This needs assessment identified persistent gaps in targeted IPC knowledge, multilingual resource availability, and the practical application of IPC strategies, particularly in outbreak management, airborne disease prevention, and environmental cleaning and disinfection. These findings are consistent with prior literature emphasizing the need for tailored IPC education in schools, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Hilbert et al. ^{Reference Hilbert, Brancato, Carter, Westneat, Bush and Haynes7} found that while school staff frequently used disinfectants, many lacked training on proper use and relied on unfamiliar products. Wang et al. ^{Reference Wang, Lapinski, Quilliam, Jaykus and Fraser8} similarly emphasized that hygiene practices and ongoing education are foundational to disease prevention. Hass et al. ^{Reference Haas, Jopp, Pringer, Contreras, Conklin and Smith1} demonstrated that online IPC toolkits can improve school staff confidence but still require clear, sustained guidance to support implementation. In addition, some studies ^{Reference Aksun and Alcan2,Reference Ochili, Dyer and Leaver3} reported that school staff had no formal training postpandemic, despite increased responsibilities, and expressed a strong need for updated policies and role clarity. Our findings further highlight the importance of pairing resource distribution with contextualized training and competency-based support, ⁹ to ensure consistent and effective IPC implementation. Respondents who reported higher IPC needs were also more likely to request practical tools such as disease-specific handouts, parent letters, and translated materials. Newsletter engagement was associated with fewer environmental cleaning and disinfection needs, suggesting that targeted, accessible communication channels may help address specific gaps.

Limitations of this study include potential self-selection bias due to voluntary participation, limiting generalizability. The survey did not collect demographic variables, preventing analysis across socioeconomic, geographic, or institutional factors that may influence IPC needs and resource access. Furthermore, the assessment was conducted solely within Nebraska, and findings may not reflect IPC challenges or priorities in other states or regions with differing school health infrastructures or policies. Future studies with broader, multi-state samples should consider demographic and regional variations to enhance generalizability.

This study highlights priority IPC needs and resource gaps in schools, emphasizing the importance of standardized training, translated content, and targeted education. Future research should evaluate how staff training, continuing education, audits and feedback strategies influence IPC practices, outbreak response, and health outcomes in educational settings.