Full Citation

Title: Impact of school closures for COVID-19 on the US health-care workforce and net mortality: a modelling study

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2020

ISBN:

ISSN: 24682667

DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30082-7

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID: 32251626

Abstract: Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is leading to social (physical) distancing policies worldwide, including in the USA. Some of the first actions taken by governments are the closing of schools. The evidence that mandatory school closures reduce the number of cases and, ultimately, mortality comes from experience with influenza or from models that do not include the effect of school closure on the health-care labour force. The potential benefits from school closures need to be weighed against costs of health-care worker absenteeism associated with additional child-care obligations. In this study, we aimed to measure child-care obligations for US health-care workers arising from school closures when these are used as a social distancing measure. We then assessed how important the contribution of health-care workers would have to be in reducing mortality for their absenteeism due to child-care obligations to undo the benefits of school closures in reducing the number of cases.

Url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468266720300827

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Bayham, Jude; Fenichel, Eli P.

Periodical (Full): The Lancet Public Health

Issue: 5

Volume: 5

Pages: e271-e278

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Work, Family, and Time

Countries: