The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 51 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The impact of unplanned school closure on children’s social contact: rapid evidence review
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Background: Emergency school closures are often used as public health interventions during infectious disease outbreaks to minimise the spread of infection. However, if children continue mixing with others outside the home during closures, the effect of these measures may be limited. Aim: This review aimed to summarise existing literature on children’s activities and contacts made outside the home during unplanned school closures. Methods: In February 2020, we searched four databases, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Embase and Web of Science, from inception to 5 February 2020 for papers published in English or Italian in peer-reviewed journals reporting on primary research exploring children’s social activities during unplanned school closures. Main findings were extracted. Results: A total of 3,343 citations were screened and 19 included in the review. Activities and social contacts appeared to decrease during closures, but contact remained common. All studies reported children leaving the home or being cared for by non-household members. There was some evidence that older child age (two studies) and parental disagreement (two studies) with closure were predictive of children leaving the home, and mixed evidence regarding the relationship between infection status and such. Parental agreement with closure was generally high, but some disagreed because of perceived low risk of infection and issues regarding childcare and financial impact. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that many children continue to leave home and mix with others during school closures despite public health recommendations to avoid social contact. This review of behaviour during unplanned school closures could be used to improve infectious disease modelling.
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In the citing paper
“The responses of children and adolescents to a crisis situation depends upon their prior exposure to emergency situations, physical and mental health issues, the socioeconomic circumstances of the family, and their cultural background [1,3].”
From Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Amidst COVID-19 and Past Pandemics: A Rapid Systematic Review (2021) · cites this paper as [1]
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“For children and adolescents with mental health issues, school closures mean a lack of access to the resources that they usually have through schools [1].”
From Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Amidst COVID-19 and Past Pandemics: A Rapid Systematic Review (2021) · cites this paper as [1]
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“Four review articles have identified negative implications of quarantine affecting public mental health and access to education.9–12”
From Social consequences of mass quarantine during epidemics: a systematic review with implications for the COVID-19 response (2020) · cites this paper as [11]
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Citations
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“Moreover, social distancing has a harmful effect on children’s health, and their activities decreased but did not stop completely, which was particularly seen among older children and those whose parents disagreed with school closures [25,26].”
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Additional file 1 of Risk factors for school-based presenteeism in children: a systematic review
Woodland, L., Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Amlôt, R., & Rubin, G. J. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.23118949
Self-citationAdditional file 2 of Risk factors for school-based presenteeism in children: a systematic review
Woodland, L., Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Amlôt, R., & Rubin, G. J. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.23118952
Self-citationAndrejko, K. L., Head, J. R., Lewnard, J. A., & Remais, J. V. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.19343056
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brooks, S. K., Smith, L. E., Webster, R. K., Weston, D., Woodland, L., Hall, I., & Rubin, G. J.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Public Health England (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Eurosurveillance
- Published
- 2020-04-02
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 13
- ISSN
- 1025-496X (ISSN-L)
- 1560-7917
- PMC
- PMC7140596
- OpenAlex
- W3013526633
- Cited by
- 159
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2025: 7 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 22
- FWCI
- 1.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Eurosurveillance (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR-INF-1658)
- Department of Health and Social Care
- University of East Anglia
- Imperial College London
- King's College London
- Newcastle University
- Public Health England
- Economic and Social Research Council (2317432)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › COVID-19 Prevention and Impact
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Influenza Virus Research Studies
- Keywords
- school closures, infectious disease outbreaks, public health interventions, child care, infectious disease transmission models, COVID-19 pandemic
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Disease Outbreaks, Female, Humans, Parents, Public Health, Schools, Social Behavior, Students, Disease Transmission, Infectious, Pandemics
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