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Volume 16, Number 2—February 2010
Research

Employment and Compliance with Pandemic Influenza Mitigation Recommendations

Kelly D. BlakeComments to Author , Robert J. Blendon, and Kasisomayajula Viswanath
Author affiliations: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (K.D. Blake, R.J. Blendon, K. Viswanath); Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston (K.D. Blake, K. Viswanath)

Main Article

Table 3

Likelihood of compliance with work-related pandemic influenza isolation strategies, by employment-related constraints and sociodemographics*

Variable Referent Likelihood,† OR (95% CI)
Lose job or business, n = 928‡ Serious financial problems
7–10 d, n = 927§ 1 mo, n = 754¶ 3 mo, n = 472#
Employment-related constraints
Unable to work from 
 home for 1 mo Able 0.99 (0.63–1.56) 1.57 (1.02–2.51)** 1.91 (1.30–2.79)†† 1.65 (1.06–2.52)**
Would not be paid if 
 kept from work Paid 4.72 (2.94–7.57)†† 3.23 (2.03–5.13)†† 2.93 (2.07–4.14)†† 1.75 (1.14–2.62)‡‡
Self-employed
Works for someone else
1.09 (0.64–1.85)
2.09 (1.25–3.49)‡‡
0.68 (0.42–1.14)
0.66 (0.38–1.16)
Sociodemographic characteristics
Income >$75,000
<$30,000 4.31 (2.43–7.63)†† 3.26 (1.85–5.75)†† 3.29 (1.78–6.05)†† 3.52 (1.38–8.98)‡‡
$30,000–$49,000 1.70 (1.01–3.02)** 1.57 (0.93–2.64) 2.93 (1.81–4.75)†† 1.46 (0.79–2.69)
$50,000–$74,000 2.08 (1.25–3.48)‡‡ 1.09 (0.64–1.84) 1.89 (1.25–2.88)‡‡ 1.27 (0.78–2.07)
Urban residence Rural 1.66 (1.07–2.56)** 1.30 (0.84–2.01) 1.14 (0.77–1.68) 0.66 (0.41–1.06)
Education College
Less than HS 2.40 (0.84–6.80) 1.73 (0.62–4.80) 1.24 (0.36–4.28) 0.45 (0.06–3.29)
HS graduate or 
 HS plus technical school 2.03 (1.17–3.51)‡‡ 1.62 (0.95–2.75) 1.17 (0.69–1.99) 0.41 (0.20–1.07)
Some college 1.15 (0.63–2.05) 1.25 (0.73–2.14) 0.89 (0.55–1.42) 0.71 (0.38–1.31)
Race/Ethnicity White
African-American 1.74 (0.92–3.29) 0.56 (0.26–1.18) 1.51 (0.77–2.95) 0.73 (0.31–1.70)
Hispanic 1.55 (0.83–2.88) 0.65 (0.32–1.34) 0.74 (0.37–1.48) 1.52 (0.65–3.57)
Other 2.23 (0.92–5.43) 1.22 (0.45–3.26) 0.71 (0.27–1.86) 0.81 (0.29–2.31)
Age, y >51
18–30 1.99 (1.09–3.66)** 1.08 (0.56–2.05) 0.73 (0.40–1.32) 1.54 (0.75–3.15)
31–50 1.09 (0.71–1.71) 1.49 (0.96–2.33) 1.04 (0.71–1.53) 1.38 (0.88–2.16)
Gender F 0.77 (0.53–1.13) 0.84 (0.57–1.22) 1.07 (0.76–1.51) 1.07 (0.72–1.61)
Good health status Poor health 0.58 (0.29–1.13) 0.50 (0.25–0.97)** 0.96 (0.40–2.29) 0.60 (0.22–1.69)
Knowledge of pandemic
 influenza
Never heard of
0.59 (0.37–0.96)
0.79 (0.49–1.30)
1.23 (0.73–2.06)
1.02 (0.53–1.94)
–2LL 735.72 740.38 860.05 605.98

*Multivariable fitted logistic regression models describing the odds that some groups may be less able than identified referent groups to comply with pandemic influenza mitigation strategies that require voluntary isolation from work. All estimates are weighted and controlled for age, race/ethnicity, education, gender, self-reported health status, and self-reported knowledge of pandemic influenza. OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; HS, high school; LL, log likelihood. Boldface indicates significance at p<0.05.
†Response of persons employed full or part time to “If pandemic influenza remained in your community for some time, health officials might recommend that people stay home from work so they do not catch or spread the disease.”
‡I or a member of my household would lose job or business as a result of having to stay home for 7–10 days.
§I or a member of my household would have serious financial problems if I stayed away from work for the following period of time.
¶Split sample; question asked only of those who responded “no” or “don’t know” to financial problems after 7–10 days.
#Split sample; question asked only of those who responded “no” or “don’t know” to financial problems after 1 month.
**p<0.05.
††p<0.0001.
‡‡p<0.01.

Main Article

Page created: December 10, 2010
Page updated: December 10, 2010
Page reviewed: December 10, 2010
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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