Effective public health messaging for university students: lessons learned to increase adherence to safety guidelines during a pandemic

Variation in compliance with recommended safety behaviors early in the COVID-19 pandemic was especially concerning in places where people aggregated after traveling from a range of geographical areas, such as many universities. Understanding variation in these behaviors is important for continuing to address the COVID-19 pandemic and planning for future disease outbreaks. We examined the relationship between safety behaviors, risk perception, COVID-19-related knowledge, and information sources among university students during the Fall 2020 semester. A person’s preferred information sources were associated with differences in knowledge, risk perception, and protective behaviors. Furthermore, people with higher COVID knowledge practiced more protective behaviors. Providing reliable information can reduce harm during future global health crises, particularly at universities where interventions on campus can also protect the larger community, as spillover from universities has impacted the most vulnerable members of the surrounding communities. Our study adds to public health literature on factors influencing personal behaviors.