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Feasibility, Acceptability, and Barriers to Implementing Select Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions to Reduce the Transmission of Pandemic Influenza - United States, 2019

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2022

Faruque Ahmed ,
Noreen Qualls ,
Shelly Kowalczyk ,
Suzanne Randolph Cunningham ,
Nicole Zviedrite  and
Amra Uzicanin
Faruque Ahmed*
Affiliation:
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Noreen Qualls
Affiliation:
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Shelly Kowalczyk
Affiliation:
Center for Community Prevention and Treatment Research, The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Suzanne Randolph Cunningham
Affiliation:
Center for Community Prevention and Treatment Research, The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Nicole Zviedrite
Affiliation:
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Amra Uzicanin
Affiliation:
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
*
Corresponding author: Faruque Ahmed, Email: fba5@cdc.gov.
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Abstract

Objectives:

This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) reserved for influenza pandemics (voluntary home quarantine, use of face masks by ill persons, childcare facility closures, school closures, and social distancing at schools, workplaces, and mass gatherings).

Methods:

Public health officials in all 50 states (including Washington, DC) and 8 territories, and a random sample of 822 local health departments (LHDs), were surveyed in 2019.

Results:

The response rates for the states/ territories and LHDs were 75% (44/ 59) and 25% (206/ 822), respectively. Most of the state/ territorial respondents stated that the feasibility and acceptability of implementing NPIs were high, except for K-12 school closures lasting up to 6 weeks or 6 months. The LHD respondents also indicated that feasibility and acceptability were lowest for prolonged school closures. Compared to LHD respondents in suburban or urban areas, those in rural areas expressed lower feasibility and acceptability. Barriers to implementing NPIs included financial impact, compliance and difficulty in enforcement, perceived level of disease threat, and concerns regarding political implications.

Conclusion:

Proactive strategies to systematically address perceived barriers and promote disease prevention ahead of a new pandemic are needed to increase receptivity and consistent adoption of NPIs and other evidence-based countermeasures.

Keywords

influenzapandemicnon-pharmaceutical interventionssocial distancingCOVID-19

Information

Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e209
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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