Household Effects of School Closure during Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract

To determine the effects of school closure, we surveyed 214 households after a 1-week elementary school closure because of pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Students spent 77% of the closure days at home, 69% of students visited at least 1 other location, and 79% of households reported that adults missed no days of work to watch children.

Evaluation of Unintended Social and Economic Consequences of an Unplanned School Closure in Rural Illinois

“…The overall difficulties were more pronounced among households with annual income under $25,000 and households with at least 1 adult losing pay during the closure. These findings are similar to previously described school closures implemented in other settings 3, 5, 11, 12. Although not a problem for the majority of households, some households reported difficulty providing food to their family members as a result of losing subsidized meals during the school closure, similar to previous surveys 12.…”

“…Unplanned school closures, especially those implemented for an extended period of time, can involve unintended social and economic adverse consequences for school administrators, students, and student families 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. These consequences can disproportionately affect vulnerable populations and raise ethical concerns over school closures 8.…”

Contact behaviour of children and parental employment behaviour during school closures against the pandemic influenza A (H1N1-2009) in Japan

“…The questionnaire focused on two epidemiological outcomes: (i) the child leaving the home during the school closure; (ii) parental absenteeism from work (including a full day of absence or a reduction in working hours) to take care of the children. The contents of the questionnaire adhered to previously published surveys, 4,5,7,8 but also stratified subjects by the eldest child's school year and their history of infection during the school closure. Some open-ended questions were also included.…”

“…2 During the course of the 2009 pandemic, however, surveys reported that children had used the extra time that they gained from school closures to attend parties or prepschool lectures outside of the home. 3,4 The behaviour of students during school closures is critical as it can influence the frequency of contacts among children, thereby diluting the effectiveness of the closure. Compensatory behaviour among school children has been referred to as the 'compensation of contact' and is recognized to be a key determinant of the success of school closure interventions.…”

Selecting Nonpharmaceutical Strategies to Minimize Influenza Spread: The 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic and beyond

“…Current plans should be reviewed and revised based on lessons learned during the pH1N1 pandemic. 6,7,[17][18][19][20][21][22] However, as that experience illustrated, we can never conceive of all possible scenarios ahead of time, will always want additional information, and need a flexible framework for making and communicating decisions. Despite advances in vaccine production and distribution, it is unlikely that a well-matched vaccine will be available at the onset of the next pandemic.…”