Volume 14, Number 5—May 2008
Policy Review
Public Response to Community Mitigation Measures for Pandemic Influenza
Robert J. Blendon*
, Lisa M. Koonin†, John M. Benson*, Martin S. Cetron†, William E. Pollard†, Elizabeth W. Mitchell†, Kathleen J. Weldon*, and Melissa J. Herrmann‡
, Lisa M. Koonin†, John M. Benson*, Martin S. Cetron†, William E. Pollard†, Elizabeth W. Mitchell†, Kathleen J. Weldon*, and Melissa J. Herrmann‡Table 6
Responses to questions about potential problems adhering to public health recommendations by health, chronic illness, and disability status*
| Question | Total (n = 1,697) | Health status |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair/poor (n = 196) | Excellent/very good/good (n = 1,481) | Chronic illness |
Disabled |
||||||
| Yes (n = 355) | No (n = 1,317) | Yes (n = 323) | No (n = 1,354) | ||||||
| If public health officials recommended, would not be able to take care of sick household member for 7–10 d at home | 13 | 25† | 11 | 16 | 12 | 21‡ | 10 | ||
| Do not have someone who could care for you at home if you were sick |
24 |
34† |
23 |
32§ |
22 |
33‡ |
22 |
||
| If asked to stay home 7–10 days, likely that: | |||||||||
| You or a member of your household might lose pay and have money problems | 48 | 55 | 48 | 47 | 49 | 49 | 48 | ||
| You or a member of your household might be unable to get the health care or prescription drugs that you need | 43 | 55† | 40 | 50§ | 40 | 48 | 41 | ||
| You or a member of your household might lose your job or business as a result of having to stay home | 27 | 38† | 25 | 24 | 28 | 31 | 26 | ||
*From the Harvard School of Public Health, Pandemic Influenza Survey, 2006. Numbers represent percentage of responses to each question.
†Statistically higher proportion than Excellent/very good/good health status.
‡Statistically higher proportion than those who are not disabled.
§Statistically higher proportion than those who do not have a chronic illness.
