Formative Research to Inform College Health Communication Campaigns About COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Infectious Disease Control

Background:

• University students and their families are key populations for infectious disease prevention efforts.
• Developing effective health communication campaigns requires understanding target audience perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To inform the development of a health communication campaign.
• To increase the uptake of COVID-19 prevention behaviors among university students.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 28 university students and 84 parents/guardians from a southeastern US university.
• Conducted online surveys on COVID-19 prevention behaviors, perceived susceptibility, and severity.
• Performed semi-structured interviews to explore beliefs about prevention behaviors.

Main Results:

• Students and parents perceived COVID-19 as possible, serious, and somewhat severe.
• Shared perceptions of benefits, barriers, and response efficacy for prevention behaviors were common between students and parents.
• Perceptions varied across different prevention behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Insights gained can guide future health communication campaigns targeting infectious disease control in college student populations.
• Understanding shared and differing perceptions between students and parents is crucial for campaign design.
• Tailoring messages based on specific behaviors can enhance campaign effectiveness.