Closing Schools in Response to the 2009 Pandemic Influenza A H1N1 Virus in New York City: Economic Impact on Households

Abstract

Understanding the effectiveness of a school closure in limiting social interaction and the economic impact of school closure on households is critical when developing guidelines to prevent spread of pandemic influenza. A New York City survey conducted in June 2009 in 554 households affected by the 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1-related school closures showed that, during closure, 30% of students visited at least 1 locale outside their homes. If all the adults in the home were employed, an ill child was less likely to leave home. In 17% of the households, at least 1 adult missed some work because of the closure. If all adults in the home were employed, someone was more likely to take time off work. If other children were in the household, it was less likely that an adult took time off work. The findings of our study will be important when developing future pandemic school-closure guidance.

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

“…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. We did not find a specific household characteristic that would be independently associated with difficulty providing food.…”

“…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.…”

“…However, the distribution of demographic characteristics of survey respondents compared to the Beardstown population is very similar in race and ethnicity, suggesting that the survey respondents may be representative of Beardstown population, and that the findings are generalizable to this community. Because the survey was distributed toward the end of the school year, it may have contributed to the lower response rate and small sample size; however, this response rate is comparable to that in similar surveys 11, 12. We were unable to assess whether the immigrant population was accurately represented in our sample, as some immigrants may have chosen to fill out the questionnaire in English.…”

“…In a study by Johnson et al on school closures in North Carolina after an influenza B outbreak, 24% of employed adults reported missing more than 1 day of work 6. In Borse et al's study conducted in New York City during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, at least 1 adult missed work in 17% of households during school closures 12. In our study, the proportion of households that missed work and lost pay is slightly higher than the findings from previous studies, especially among single‐adult households in which the adult works outside the home.…”

Role of household factors in parental attitudes to pandemic influenza-related school closure in Japan: a cross-sectional study

“…This disparity may have been because our study included households of children attending kindergarten to junior high school, whereas the previous study included high school. In addition to this disparity, in other countries, the rates of a parent taking leave from work during school closures varied widely: 17% at seven schools in New York City [9], 20% in 39 states in the USA [5], and 45% at three schools in Perth, Australia [6]. Therefore, we supposed that the variation may be affected by some other household factors.…”