Volume 16, Number 2—February 2010
Research
Household Responses to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009–related School Closures, Perth, Western Australia
Table 3
Household responses to survey regarding pandemic (H1N1) 2009–related school closures, Perth, Western Australia, 2009, June 8–14, 2009
Survey question, response | No. (%) responses |
---|---|
Was school closure appropriate, and why or why not?* | |
Yes | 110 (47) |
To protect the community | 84 (76) |
To protect other students at the school | 72 (66) |
To protect my child and family | 68 (62) |
Swine flu illness is serious | 31 (28) |
No | 76 (33) |
Swine flu illness is mild | 54 (71) |
Cannot stop flu spread | 50 (66) |
Lost income due to missed work | 18 (24) |
Too difficult to make childcare arrangements | 14 (18) |
Not sure |
47 (20) |
What was the level of disruption to family routines caused by the closure? | |
Severe | 32 (14) |
Moderate | 95 (41) |
Minimal | 87 (37) |
None |
19 (8) |
What level of anxiety did the closure create in your child? | |
Severe | 3 (1) |
Moderate | 20 (9) |
Minimal | 101 (43) |
None |
109 (47) |
What could have helped you be bettered prepared for the school closure?* | |
Nothing, we were well prepared | 104 (45) |
More time between notification and closing | 47 (20) |
Assistance with emergency childcare arrangements | 45 (19) |
Better understanding of potential length of closure at outset | 26 (11) |
*Reasons for the individual responses were not mutually exclusive.