Public perceptions of quarantine: community-based telephone survey following an infectious disease outbreak

BackgroundThe use of restrictive measures such as quarantine draws into sharp relief the dynamic interplay between the individual rights of the citizen on the one hand and the collective rights of the community on the other. Concerns regarding infectious disease outbreaks (SARS, pandemic influenza) have intensified the need to understand public perceptions of quarantine and other social distancing measures.MethodsWe conducted a telephone survey …