Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year
Abstract University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for...
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2021-06-01
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doaj-1c48f4264afd44958b1df8d00fe14ced2021-06-06T11:38:46ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222021-06-0111111310.1038/s41598-021-91156-9Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic yearEmily Nixon0Adam Trickey1Hannah Christensen2Adam Finn3Amy Thomas4Caroline Relton5Clara Montgomery6Gibran Hemani7Jane Metz8Josephine G. Walker9Katy Turner10Rachel Kwiatkowska11Sarah Sauchelli12Leon Danon13Ellen Brooks-Pollock14School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol Life Sciences BuildingPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolBristol Veterinary School, University of BristolPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol Life Sciences BuildingPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolBristol Children’s Vaccine Centre, University of BristolPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolNIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of BristolPopulation Health Sciences, University of BristolNational Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Bristol, Weston NHS Foundation Trust, University of BristolDepartment of Engineering Mathematics, University of BristolNIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of BristolAbstract University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for University of Bristol (UoB) staff/students. Here, we analyse results from 740 students providing 1261 unique records from the start of the 2020/2021 academic year (14/09/2020–01/11/2020), where COVID-19 outbreaks led to the self-isolation of all students in some halls of residences. Although most students reported lower daily contacts than in pre-COVID-19 studies, there was heterogeneity, with some reporting many (median = 2, mean = 6.1, standard deviation = 15.0; 8% had ≥ 20 contacts). Around 40% of students’ contacts were with individuals external to the university, indicating potential for transmission to non-students/staff. Only 61% of those reporting cardinal symptoms in the past week self-isolated, although 99% with a positive COVID-19 test during the 2 weeks before survey completion had self-isolated within the last week. Some students who self-isolated had many contacts (mean = 4.3, standard deviation = 10.6). Our results provide context to the COVID-19 outbreaks seen in universities and are available for modelling future outbreaks and informing policy.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9 |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Emily Nixon Adam Trickey Hannah Christensen Adam Finn Amy Thomas Caroline Relton Clara Montgomery Gibran Hemani Jane Metz Josephine G. Walker Katy Turner Rachel Kwiatkowska Sarah Sauchelli Leon Danon Ellen Brooks-Pollock |
spellingShingle |
Emily Nixon Adam Trickey Hannah Christensen Adam Finn Amy Thomas Caroline Relton Clara Montgomery Gibran Hemani Jane Metz Josephine G. Walker Katy Turner Rachel Kwiatkowska Sarah Sauchelli Leon Danon Ellen Brooks-Pollock Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year Scientific Reports |
author_facet |
Emily Nixon Adam Trickey Hannah Christensen Adam Finn Amy Thomas Caroline Relton Clara Montgomery Gibran Hemani Jane Metz Josephine G. Walker Katy Turner Rachel Kwiatkowska Sarah Sauchelli Leon Danon Ellen Brooks-Pollock |
author_sort |
Emily Nixon |
title |
Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year |
title_short |
Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year |
title_full |
Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year |
title_fullStr |
Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year |
title_full_unstemmed |
Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year |
title_sort |
contacts and behaviours of university students during the covid-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
series |
Scientific Reports |
issn |
2045-2322 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Abstract University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for University of Bristol (UoB) staff/students. Here, we analyse results from 740 students providing 1261 unique records from the start of the 2020/2021 academic year (14/09/2020–01/11/2020), where COVID-19 outbreaks led to the self-isolation of all students in some halls of residences. Although most students reported lower daily contacts than in pre-COVID-19 studies, there was heterogeneity, with some reporting many (median = 2, mean = 6.1, standard deviation = 15.0; 8% had ≥ 20 contacts). Around 40% of students’ contacts were with individuals external to the university, indicating potential for transmission to non-students/staff. Only 61% of those reporting cardinal symptoms in the past week self-isolated, although 99% with a positive COVID-19 test during the 2 weeks before survey completion had self-isolated within the last week. Some students who self-isolated had many contacts (mean = 4.3, standard deviation = 10.6). Our results provide context to the COVID-19 outbreaks seen in universities and are available for modelling future outbreaks and informing policy. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9 |
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