Volume 26, Number 5—May 2020
Policy Review
Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings—Personal Protective and Environmental Measures
Jingyi Xiao1, Eunice Y. C. Shiu1, Huizhi Gao, Jessica Y. Wong, Min W. Fong, Sukhyun Ryu, and Benjamin J. Cowling
Table 1
Summary of literature searches for systematic review on personal and environmental nonpharmaceutical interventions for pandemic influenza*
| Types of interventions | No. studies identified | Study designs included† | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand hygiene |
11 |
RCT |
The evidence from RCTs suggested that hand hygiene interventions do not have a substantial effect on influenza transmission. |
| Respiratory etiquette |
0 |
NA |
We did not identify research evaluating the effectiveness of respiratory etiquette on influenza transmission. |
| Face masks |
10 |
RCT |
The evidence from RCTs suggested that the use of face masks either by infected persons or by uninfected persons does not have a substantial effect on influenza transmission. |
| Surface and object cleaning | 3 | RCT, observational studies | There was a limited amount of evidence suggesting that surface and object cleaning does not have a substantial effect on influenza transmission. |
*NA, not available; RCT randomized controlled trial.
†In these systematic reviews, we prioritized RCTs, and only considered observational studies if there were a small number of RCTs. Our rationale was that with evidence from a larger number of RCTs, additional evidence from observational studies would be unlikely to change overall conclusions.
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.
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