Volume 26, Number 5—May 2020
Policy Review
Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings—Social Distancing Measures
Table 1
Summary of results for systematic review of literature on nonpharmaceutical interventions for pandemic influenza*
Type of NPI | No. studies identified | Study designs included | Main findings |
---|---|---|---|
Isolation |
15 |
Observational, simulation |
Isolation has moderate impact in reducing influenza transmission and impact. |
Quarantine |
16 |
Intervention study, observational, simulation |
Quarantine has general moderate impact in reducing influenza transmission and impact. |
Contact tracing |
4 |
Simulation |
Combination of contact tracing with other measures (e.g., isolation and quarantine) can reduce influenza transmission and impact; the addition of contact tracing to existing measures might provide only modest benefit but will need substantial resources. |
School closure | |||
Planned holiday | 28 | Observational | The transmission of influenza decreases during routine school holidays but might increase after schools reopen. |
Reactive closures | 16 | Observational | The effectiveness of reactive school closure varies. |
Preemptive closures |
13 |
Observational |
Preemptive school closure has moderate impact in reducing influenza transmission. |
Workplace measures |
18 |
Intervention study, observational, simulation |
Workplace measures are effective; combination with other interventions will further strengthen the effect. |
Workplace closures |
10 |
Simulation |
Workplace closures might have modest impact in reducing influenza transmission. |
Avoiding crowding |
3 |
Observational |
Timely and sustained application of measures to avoid crowding might reduce influenza transmission. |
*Details of literature review are described in the Appendix. |
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.