Household responses to school closure resulting from outbreak of influenza B, North Carolina

Abstract

School closure is a proposed strategy for reducing influenza transmission during a pandemic. Few studies have assessed how families respond to closures, or whether other interactions during closure could reduce this strategy's effect. Questionnaires were administered to 220 households (438 adults and 355 children) with school-age children in a North Carolina county during an influenza B virus outbreak that resulted in school closure. Closure was considered appropriate by 201 (91%) households. No adults missed work to solely provide childcare, and only 22 (10%) households required special childcare arrangements; 2 households incurred additional costs. Eighty-nine percent of children visited at least 1 public location during the closure despite county recommendations to avoid large gatherings. Although behavior and attitudes might differ during a pandemic, these results suggest short-term closure did not cause substantial hardship for parents. Pandemic planning guidance should address the potential for transmission in public areas during school closure.

Figure 1

A) Percentage of schoolchildren absent from public schools, by date, and B) total number of children surveyed with influenza-like illness, by date of illness onset, Yancey County, North Carolina, October 23–November 17, 2006.

Figure 2

Locations visited by schoolchildren during school closure by age group, controlled for effect of family, Yancey County, North Carolina, 2006. Values above bars are percentages. *p<0.05.

Figure 3

Percentage of ill and healthy schoolchildren visiting various locations during school closure, controlled for effect of family, Yancey County, North Carolina, 2006. Values above bars are percentages. No significant differences were observed (p<0.05).