A Simulation-based assessment of school closure strategies during an influenza epidemic

Lu Li*, Zhang Fa, Hong Cai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

For assessment of school closure strategies during an influenza pandemic, we used an agent-based simulation model of influenza pandemic within a structured population of an urban community to compare the effectiveness of school closure strategies with various durations and thresholds. We found that both systemwide and individual school closure strategies could provide an effective way to reduce infection in an epidemic. In most cases, systemwide school closure is more effective than individual school closure, especially when the reproductive rate R0 of the epidemic is high. Experimenting with the various durations and thresholds, our model shows that when longer durations or lower thresholds are applied, both strategies have more effects on the epidemic. This paper provides an example of how agent-based simulation can be employed in policy evaluation and is promising in emergency management.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationICEMMS 2011 - Proceedings
Subtitle of host publication2011 2nd IEEE International Conference on Emergency Management and Management Sciences
Pages81-84
Number of pages4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes
Event2011 2nd IEEE International Conference on Emergency Management and Management Sciences, ICEMMS 2011 - Beijing, China
Duration: 8 Aug 201110 Aug 2011

Publication series

NameICEMMS 2011 - Proceedings: 2011 2nd IEEE International Conference on Emergency Management and Management Sciences

Conference

Conference2011 2nd IEEE International Conference on Emergency Management and Management Sciences, ICEMMS 2011
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period8/08/1110/08/11

Keywords

  • agent-based simulation
  • emergency management
  • influenza pandemic
  • school closure

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