Abstract
ObjectivesYoung people are considered at lower risk from coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). However, measures to limit the population health impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic have caused significant disruptions to their lives. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of young people predominantly living in the south-west of England during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study designRapid qualitative study. MethodsFollowing advertisement on social media, a purposive sample of young people by age and gender who had expressed an interest were invited to participate. In June 2020, 21 young people (12–17 years) took part in 18 semi-structured interviews, either through a digital platform or by telephone. Interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was undertaken, assisted by NVvivo Software. ResultsYoung people felt the greatest impacts of the pandemic have been disruption to how they learned because of school closures and limited face-to-face interaction with their social networks. There was variation in terms of how satisfied young people were with self-directed learning at home, and some anxieties in relation to its effectiveness outside the school environment. Most young people reported maintaining social relationships remotely, but some young people appeared to have little social interaction outside their household. High levels of adherence to social distancing and handwashing were reported, which could lead to a sense of injustice resulting from visibility of other people breaching social distancing guidance. Young people were willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if a vaccine became available, with the greatest motivator being to protect others above themselves. ConclusionsYoung people have experienced significant disruption to their education and social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic. During lockdown, high levels of compliance to government public health guidelines to reduce transmission of COVID-19 were reported by young people. If an effective vaccine is developed, a schools-based vaccination programme could be an efficient method to interrupt transmission to more at-risk populations and prevent further disruptions to young people's education.
Highlights
The findings are reported by the following themes and sub-themes related to the objectives of the study: (i) social impact of COVID-19 pandemic on young people (‘schooling and education’, ‘disruption to social networks’, and ‘hobbies and extracurricular activities’); (ii) implementation of COVID-19 government guidelines (‘social distancing’, ‘handwashing and hygiene’, ‘self-isolation’, and ‘enforce ment of rules’), and: (iii) acceptability of vaccination against COVID-19
None of the participants believed that anyone in their household had experienced COVID-19, some young people were aware of cases affecting more distant members within their social networks
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was usually felt through disruption to their schooling education, their social networks, and hobbies and extracurricular activities
Summary
Infection with the new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syn drome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2) causes novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic [1]. In England, public health control measures to reduce transmission were introduced. In late March 2020, schools were closed nationally, and ‘lockdown’ measures were put in place where the public were allowed to leave their homes only for exercise and for grocery shopping. From mid-May, the general public were allowed outside for unlimited exercise and to meet one other person at a minimum distance of two metres. From mid-June, primary and secondary schools were partially opened for priority year groups, and up to six people were allowed to (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
