Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Swabbing the Urban Environment - A Pipeline for Sampling and Detection of SARS-CoV-2 From Environmental Reservoirs
Published on: April 9, 2021
The experience of quarantine for individuals affected by SARS in Toronto
Maureen A Cava1, Krissa E Fay, Heather J Beanlands
1Professional Practice Planning & Policy, Toronto Public Health, City of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. mcava@toronto.ca
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of home quarantine during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Toronto in 2003.
Design:
Qualitative descriptive design.
Sample:
Stratified random sampling techniques were used to generate a list of potential participants, who varied in terms of gender and closeness of exposure to someone with suspected SARS (contact level). Twenty-one individuals participated in the study.
Measurements:
All interviews were audiotaped and followed a semistructured interview guide. Participants were invited to describe their experience of quarantine in detail including their advice for Public Health.
Results:
The experience followed a trajectory of stages beginning before quarantine and ending after quarantine. Despite individual differences, common themes of uncertainty, isolation, and coping intersected the data.
Conclusions:
Public Health has a dual role of monitoring compliance and providing support to people in quarantine. This study has implications for public health policy and practice in planning for future public health emergencies in terms of the information and the resources required to mount an effective response.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Coronavirus
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis V
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the progression...
01:18Steps in Outbreak Investigation
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
03:20The Stanford Prison Experiment