ABSTRACT
This research aimed to inform the development of a health communication campaign to increase the uptake of COVID-19 prevention behaviors among university students. Twenty-eight students attending a mid-sized public university in the southeastern United States and 84 parents or guardians of university students were recruited. The study included an online survey assessing COVID-19 prevention behaviors, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19, and semi-structured interviews to elicit beliefs on COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Students and parents/guardians reported that getting COVID-19 was possible but not necessarily likely. COVID-19 was seen as serious and at least somewhat severe. Dominant interview themes for benefits, barriers, response efficacy, and self-efficacy related to prevention behaviors are reported. Overall, perceptions of behavioral benefits, barriers, and response efficacy were often shared by parents and students but varied across behaviors. These data provide insights for future campaign development for the control of infectious diseases among college students.
ABSTRACT
Black/African American populations in the United States are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is evidence suggesting that vaccine hesitancy is a concern among this group. As an alternative to the primary prevention method of vaccination, the tertiary method of disclosing one's COVID-19 status after contracting the virus is of utmost importance in reducing the spread of the virus. Recommendations to inform disclosure decisions based on an HIV disclosure model can be applied to COVID-19-positive Black populations in clinical and community settings to reduce the spread of the virus among this population.