title: Evidence-based tool for triggering school closures during influenza outbreaks, Japan.
abstract: Guidelines available to school administrators to support school closure decisions during influenza outbreaks are usually not evidence-based. Using empirical data on absentee rates of elementary school students in Japan, we developed a simple and practical algorithm for determining the optimal timing of school closures for control of influenza outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. asammy@unii.ac.jp
authors.forename: Asami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Anne Gatewood
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Hoen
authors.forename: Al
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozonoff
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Naohito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Nao
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Brownstein
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000465:Algorithms; D002648:Child; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students