Using peer-ethnography to explore the health and well-being of college students affected by COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Purpose

COVID-19 continues to infect and affect college-aged youth. We lack information about how students experienced the pandemic day-to-day and what they need for recovery, from their own perspectives. This study employed peer ethnography to explore student’s insights for current and future prevention and care.

Methods

A team of eight students were trained as peer ethnographers to observe and record conversations with their peers in 15-minute increments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transcripts of 200 conversations were collated and analysed via theme analysis to identify patterns.

Results

Student conversations revealed dichotomous perspectives about COVID-19. Some students prioritized safety, captured via three themes—caution, rethinking routines, and protecting others. Other students struggled to follow prevention guidelines and took risks, also captured by three themes—parties, denial, and misinformation. A third category of themes captured the results of this dichotomy—tense campus relationships and a health leadership vacuum.

Conclusions

Our findings identify specific locations for intervention (e.g., off campus parties) and needed community collaborations (e.g., bars and universities) for COVID-19 and future pandemics. Our findings suggest that overarching approaches, like harm reduction or affirmation (versus shame), are helpful intervention frameworks. Findings also celebrate the value of peer-ethnography, to learn about pandemics and solutions from the ground up.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent health
• college students
• COVID-19
• interventions
• peer ethnography
• prevention
• qualitative methods

Acknowledgments

We thank the participants for sharing their experiences with us and the peer researchers for assisting with data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Geolocation information

Midwest, United States

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Siemens Healthineers, Grant number 2028427, University of Missouri.

Notes on contributors

Michelle Teti

Michelle Teti is a professor of public health at the University of Missouri who is an expert in using qualitative and community-based methods to understand illness prevention.

Tyler W. Myroniuk

Tyler Myroniuk is an assistant professor of public health at the University of Missouri with a background in sociology, and expertise using peer ethnographic methods.

Grace Kirksey

Grace Kirksey is a Bachelor of Public Health student at the University of Missouri.

Mariah Pratt

Mariah Pratt is a Bachelor of Public Health student at the University of Missouri.

Enid Schatz

Enid Schatz is a professor of public health at the University of Missouri with expertise in mixed methods and infectious disease research.