Attitudes Toward The Use Of Quarantine In A Public Health Emergency In Four Countries
Affiliations
- Robert Blendon ([email protected]) is a professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in Boston, Massachusetts. Catherine DesRoches is a research scientist there. Martin Cetron is director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, Georgia. John Benson is managing director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the HSPH. Theodore Meinhardt is acting deputy director of the CDC's Division of Health Communication, and William Pollard is a health communication specialist there.
Abstract
ABSTRACT:
Countries worldwide face the threat of emerging infectious diseases. To understand the public's reaction to the use of widespread quarantine should such an outbreak occur, the Harvard School of Public Health, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, undertook a survey of residents of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States. A sizable proportion of the public in each country opposed compulsory quarantine. Respondents were concerned about overcrowding, infection, and inability to communicate with family members while in quarantine. Officials will need specific plans to deal with the public's concerns about compulsory quarantine policies.
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