Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The School Community's Response To School Closures During The H1n1 2009 Influenza, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Rebecca Tooher, Joanne Collins, Jackie M. Street, Helen S. Marshall

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Australian public health officials closed schools as a strategy to mitigate the spread of the infection. This article examines school communities’ understanding of, and participation in, school closures and the beliefs and values which underpinned school responses to the closures.

Methods

We interviewed four school principals, 25 staff, 14 parents and 13 students in five schools in one Australian city which were either fully or partially closed during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Results

Drawing on Thompson et al’s ethical framework for pandemic planning, we show that considerable variation existed between and within schools …

Community Knowledge, Behaviours And Attitudes About The 2009 H1n1 Influenza Pandemic: A Systematic Review, Rebecca Tooher, Joanne Collins, Jackie M. Street, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Helen S. Marshall

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

Effectiveness of pandemic plans and community compliance was extensively researched following the H1N1 pandemic. This systematic review examined community response studies to determine whether behavioural responses to the pandemic were related to level of knowledge about the pandemic, perceived severity of the pandemic and level of concern about the pandemic.

Methods

Literature databases were searched from March 2009 to August 2011 and included cross‐sectional or repeated population surveys undertaken during or following the H1N1 pandemic which reported on community response to the pandemic. Studies using population subgroups and other respiratory diseases were excluded, as were mathematical modelling and qualitative …

Pandemic Influenza: A Global Challenge For Social Marketing Marketing, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Recent years have seen increased attention and concern regarding the potential for pandemic influenza, following large-scale outbreaks of swine flu and bird flu. Governments and health agencies have time to develop social marketing strategies and specific messages that have the potential to minimize fear, refute or inoculate against misinformation that the public may encounter, and enhance the likelihood of the public taking the recommended preventive and remedial actions should these become necessary. This paper presents an overview of how social marketing can be used to tackle the global challenge of pandemic influenza. The potential pandemic influenza poses a major challenge …

"Body Bags Ready": Print Media Coverage Of Avian Influenza In Australia, Sandra C. Jones, Louise Waters, Fiona Baikie, Don Iverson, Max Sutherland, Julian Gold, Chris Puplick

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In 2006 the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus received considerable media coverage in Australia, as it did in many other countries. It is often argued that the media sensationalizes health crises, and experts cautioned about the risk of panic as a result of fear of avian influenza. The purpose of the present study was to systematically analyze Australian print media coverage of avian influenza in 2006 and to examine whether this coverage served the purpose of informing, rather than alarming, the general public. For the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006, 20 Australian newspaper titles were monitored for …

Pandemic Influenza Communication: Views From A Deliberative Forum, Wendy Rogers, Jackie M. Street, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Janet E. Hiller

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective  To use a deliberative forum to elicit community perspectives on communication about pandemic influenza planning, and to compare these findings with the current Australian national communication strategy. Design  Deliberative forum of 12 persons randomly selected from urban South Australia. Forum members were briefed by experts in infection control, virology, ethics and public policy before deliberating on four key questions: what, how and when should the community be told about pandemic influenza and by whom? Results  The forum recommended provision of detailed and comprehensive information by credible experts, rather than politicians, using a variety of media including television and internet. …

Influenza Virus Antigenic Variation, Host Antibody Production And New Approach To Control Epidemics, Jiezhong Chen, Yi-Mo Deng

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Influenza is an infectious disease and can lead to life-threatening complications like pneumonia. The disease is caused by three types of RNA viruses called influenza types A, B and C, each consisting of eight negative single-stranded RNA-segments encoding 11 proteins. Current annual vaccines contain two type A strains and one type B strain and are capable of inducing strong antibody responses to both the surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) and the neuraminidase (NA). While these vaccines are protective against vaccine viruses they are not effective against newly emerging viruses that contain antigenic variations known as antigenic drift and shift. In nature, …