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Volume 17, Number 4—April 2011
Letter

Effect of School Closure from Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Vanessa G. JarquinComments to Author , David B. Callahan, Nicole J. Cohen, Victor Balaban, Rose Wang, Ricardo Beato, Paran Pordell, Otilio Oyervides, Wan-Ting Huang, Harvey Lipman, Daniel Fishbein, and Mehran S. Massoudi
Author affiliations: Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Main Article

Table

Household responses (n = 172) related to school closure as a result of pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Chicago, Illinois, USA, April 29–May 5, 2009

Response
No. (%)
Highest education level of parent or guardian
None 2 (1)
Elementary school 48 (28)
Junior high school 9 (5)
High school 59 (34)
Some college 29 (17)
Advanced degree 21 (12)
No response
4 (2)
Employment status of parent or guardian
Full time 54 (31)
Part time 37 (22)
Student 6 (4)
Retired 2 (1)
Unemployed 17 (10)
Stay-at-home 53 (31)
Other/no response
3 (2)
Receipt of closure information by parent or guardian* 142 (84)
School 89 (63)
Radio or television news 81 (57)
Other parents/students 17 (12)
Student 5 (4)
Press conference 4 (3)
Internet
3 (2)
Found closure difficult for self or family* 105 (61)
Fear about H1N1 74 (70)
Uncertainty about duration of closure 70 (66)
Fear about family’s health 66 (62)
Schedule changes 33 (31)
Student missing school meals 26 (25)
Child care arrangements 21 (20)
Loss of income because of lost work time 17 (16)
High cost of child care arrangements 13 (12)
Transportation difficulties 12 (11)
Student missing education 3 (3)
Behavioral concerns related to disability
1 (1)
Student activities during closure*
Did homework 125 (73)
Went to a public place 63 (37)
Went to home of another family member 43 (25)
Got together with <6 friends 29 (17)
Went to afterschool extracurricular activity 20 (12)
Got together with >6 friends 13 (8)
Slept at a friend’s house 5 (3)
Went to afterschool program 5 (3)
Alternate child care arrangements made†
13 (8)
*Response categories were not mutually exclusive.
†Mean cost of alternate childcare $45.

Main Article

Page created: July 25, 2011
Page updated: July 25, 2011
Page reviewed: July 25, 2011
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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