Perceptions of
Pandemic Influenza
A Survey
McHenry County
Department of Health
Introduction
On August 18th, the McHenry County Department of Health held a luncheon where many of the county
leaders from all sectors – business, education, law enforcement, fire, government, and area hospitals –
were invited. Many of the neighboring counties, including Wisconsin counties, were also invited and
attended this luncheon. The luncheon focused on pandemic influenza preparedness and featured guest
speaker Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
To gauge the current perception on pandemic influenza held by our invited guests, a ten question
survey was created based on a survey of U.S. large companies, done by Deloitte Center for Health
Solutions, a part of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP. The questions addressed the understanding of
pandemic influenza, seasonal influenza, and also asked whether each individual person has prepared
for emergencies. Of the XYZ participants, 125 individuals completed the survey, with the healthaffiliated organizations (36%) giving a good part of the response.
Distribution of Sectors that Attended and Completed
the Survey on Preparations for Pandemic Flu
Service
34 (27%)
Safety
8 (6%)
School
6 (5%)
Health
45 (36%)
Not Specified
10 (8%)
Government
23 (18%)
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• Government –
townships,
municipalities, county
board members
• Health – health
departments, hospitals,
doctors
• Safety – police and fire
protection districts
• School – county
college, school districts
• Service – businesses,
consulting firms,
libraries, home care
providers
A Serious Perception of Pandemic Influenza
For the majority of the people that attended the luncheon, they believe that pandemic influenza is a
threat and will cause some disruption to normal business functions. This survey was completed before
the appearance of any H5N1 avian flu cases in birds in North America.
60
Question 1: Pandemic influenza represents a real
threat to people in the United States
50
40
30
20
10
0
Stongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Question 2: It is highly likely that pandemic flu will
adversely affect my organization’s daily
function/business
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree
60
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Question 4: My organization is concerned
about pandemic influenza
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
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Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Perception on Seasonal Influenza
There was also great concern for seasonal influenza, with 80% of those surveyed agreeing with the
question. One organization complained that they do not receive the annual vaccinations.
60
Question 3: My organization is concerned
about seasonal influenza
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Seasonal Flu, Avian Flu, Bird Flu, Pandemic Flu – Understanding the Terminiology
The use of the various terminologies in the academic and popular media has confused many people.
Only 54% of the participants were certain (strongly agree and agree) of the differences between
pandemic, avian and seasonal influenza. Those responders that were unsure of the differences (46%)
spanned all sectors – from local police and fire departments to health care centers, nursing homes,
libraries and elected officials.
40
Question 5: The members of my organization know
the difference between pandemic flu, avian flu and
seasonal flu
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
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Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Some organizations (45%) have completed or have started to develop a response plan that specifically
focuses on pandemic influenza events. Yet, it is not surprising that 70% of the responders are
associated with health departments, which has been designated by the federal government as the lead
agency in the planning process.
Question 6: My organization has developed a
response plan to minimize the impact of a pandemic
influenza outbreak
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Strongly Agree
80
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Question 8: My organization could use help in
developing a response plan for pandemic influenza
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
It is also not surprising to see that a majority of the attendees (71%) would be open to help in the
response planning process.
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It is positive to see that many (75%) of the participants believe that steps can be taken to minimize the
impact of an influenza pandemic, and that pre-event planning is not considered a wasted effort..
70
Question 7: Even with planning, there isn’t much an
organization/company can do to protect itself from
the impact of pandemic influenza
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Close to half of the attendees have started a personal preparedness plan (41%) or bought supplies
(46%) that would be used in a personal or family emergency kit. Follow-up will be done to see which
list they are following and to what extent are these steps at.
50
Question 9: I have personally developed a
family preparedness plan
45
45
40
40
35
35
Question 10: I have personally purchased
items for a home emergency supply kit
30
30
25
25
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
For more information, please contact the McHenry County Department of Health: 815-334-4510
http://www.mcdhprepare.info
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