Impact of seasonal influenza-related school closures on families - Southeastern Kentucky, February 2008

Abstract

During influenza epidemics, little is known about how influenza-related school closures affect families. Many children meet nutritional needs through school food programs, and schools provide child care both during and after school. Moreover, schools rely on student attendance to meet federal and state funding and educational requirements. To assess the impact of school closings on families, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) conducted a telephone survey of randomly sampled households whose children attended schools in two adjacent school districts that had been closed because of high absenteeism during an outbreak of seasonal influenza in the community in February 2008. This report summarizes the results of that survey, which indicated that 97.0% of respondents agreed with the decision to close schools. In 29.1% of households, an adult had to miss work to provide child care, and in 15.7% of households, at least one adult lost pay because of missed work. Although the schools closed because of high absenteeism affecting school operations and funding, this was not fully communicated to families; 64.4% of respondents believed the closures would "keep people from getting ill," and 90.8% thought it was "extremely or very important" to disinfect schools while closed to reduce community spread of influenza. School districts and health departments should provide families with specific information about the reason for school closings and provide recommendations for reducing the spread of influenza while students are dismissed from school.