COVID-19 Prevention Beliefs and Practices in College Students

Abstract

Background: As college students in the United States return to university campuses, it is important to understand their beliefs and practices on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention. Purpose: To assess beliefs and practices regarding COVID-19 prevention among college students in the United States Methods: An online, self-administered survey was developed that collected information on COVID-19 preventative practice and beliefs. Survey responses were collected between July 13, 2020 and July 31, 2020. Results: A total of 4,834 college students participated in the survey with a response rate of 22.9%. Compared to males, more female college students practiced COVID-19 preventative measures, including always wearing masks or face coverings in public (52% vs. 44%, p<0.001) and always or often observing social distancing (70% vs. 63%, p<0.001). In contrast to students from larger population areas, fewer college students from rural areas reported practicing prevention measures, such as always wearing a mask (24% rural v. 45% towns vs. 55% cities, p<0.001) and always social distancing (20% rural vs. 21% towns vs. 29% cities, p<0.001). Additionally, more students from rural areas have become much less worried about personally contracting COVID-19 over the last 3 months when compared to students from towns and cities (21% vs. 16% vs. 11%, p<0.001). Fewer white college students compared to other racial groups thought it was very important to wear masks (55% white vs. 76% Black vs. 82% Asian vs. 63% American Indian or Alaskan native (AIAN) & Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) , p<0.001) and very important to practice social distancing (29% white vs. 50% Black vs. 53% Asian vs. 36% AIAN/NHOPI, p <0.001). Compared to Non-Hispanic students, more Hispanic students thought it was very important to practice preventative measures, including wearing a mask (71% vs. 58%, p<0.001), social distancing (37% vs. 32%, p=0.017), and good hand hygiene (77% vs. 67%, p=0.013). Conclusion: COVID-19 prevention beliefs and practices differ between sexes, the size of town one lives, race, and ethnicity. In general, female students followed Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 prevention guidelines more closely than male students. Students who reside in areas of larger populations have more strict COVID-19 prevention beliefs and practices than students from areas with smaller populations. Asian and Black/African American students adhered closer to CDC COVID-19 prevention guidelines and had stronger beliefs for infection prevention measures than white or AIAN/NHOPI students. Hispanic/Latino students were more stringent in COVID-19 prevention beliefs and practices than non-Hispanic/Latino students.