Young people's guide to the COVID galaxy: preferences for COVID-19 research communication
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1
Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia
2
Burnet Institute, Australia
3
Burnet Institute, Burma (Myanmar)
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A335
ABSTRACT
Background and Objective: Research communication is critical for raising awareness of COVID-19 prevention measures and optimising public health responses. However, research is often communicated in ways that exclude participants, including young people. This study aimed to understand young people’s preferences for COVID-19 research communication in Australia. Methods: In February 2022, we conducted four online Zoom workshops with two groups of young people aged 18-22 years. Workshops went for two hours each and involved activities where participants could contribute ideas through verbal discussion and text, pictures and drawings on a virtual whiteboard. Workshop one focused on building relationships between participants and researchers and developing skills to ask open ended questions. Workshop two explored perceptions of existing research communication. Workshop three explored young people’s ideas for communicating COVID-19 research and workshop four involved generating recommendations. Data including transcripts and whiteboard materials, were entered into NVivo and thematically analysed. Results: Nine young people participated in the workshops (3 female, 3 male and 3 non-binary). Participants expressed the need to communicate research relevant to their experiences, including the challenges they faced throughout the pandemic and their positive contributions to society. Although participants trusted evidence communicated by reputable organisations, they identified an opportunity for young people to collaborate with researchers to produce authentic and relatable content. Young people appreciated when researchers highlighted their most important Findings using clear visuals, animations, infographics and humour. Given the overwhelming amount of COVID-19 information, research needed to be accessible and integrated into platforms young people were already using, such as short videos on TikTok and Instagram. Conclusions: Findings suggest there are opportunities to make COVID-19 research communication more relevant for young people by incorporating their experiences and ideas. Further studies where researchers partner with young people are needed to develop and test content using social media.