Abstract
Aim:To describe how children in Sweden accessed and perceived information about SARS-CoV2 and Covid-19 during the first phase of the outbreak.Methods:This study is a substudy of an international cross-sectional online mixed methods survey examining elements of children’s health literacy in relation to Covid-19. The survey included multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions and drawings and collected information from 50 Swedish children (7–12 years). Data were analysed concurrently on a descriptive level using statistics and content analysis. Quantitative and qualitative data, including the drawings, were considered equally important and resulted in six categories, illuminating how children accessed and perceived information about the pandemic.Results:The survey showed that children accessed information mainly from school but also from TV. They preferred information from reliable sources. Children reported the information they accessed as easy to understand and it prompted them to ask new questions. They reported they knew a lot about the pandemic, for example, the potential danger to themselves and others and how to act to protect themselves and others. They perceived the pandemic as an intrusion on their lives.Conclusions: This study indicates that Swedish children between 7 and 12 years old were well informed about SARS-CoV2 and Covid-19 during the first phase of the pandemic. School was shown to be an important source of information. The children could explain how to act to protect themselves and others from becoming infected by the virus.
Highlights
In the beginning of 2020 news about a previously unknown viral disease reached the world
This study is reporting on a subsample of an international cross-sectional online survey examining elements of children’s Health literacy (HL), such as information sources children accessed, children’s information preferences, their perceived understanding of and their reported information needs in relation to Covid-19 and SARS-CoV2 [8]
Children and caregivers were informed about the purpose and execution of the study, about the primary investigator in the UK and in Sweden, that participation was voluntary, anonymous, and that a submitted survey would be perceived as their assent to take part in the study.The caregivers provided consent for their child to participate in the study by ticking a statement before their child could respond to the survey
Summary
In the beginning of 2020 news about a previously unknown viral disease reached the world. The situation in society which resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic was new and has been described as frightening for both children and adults [1]. The pandemic has created changes in daily life [1], socioemotional and financial stress for many families [4], and mental health challenges [5]. Children seem to experience less severe illness and symptoms from Covid-19 than adults [6], the pandemic has led to consequences such as negative changes in wellbeing and health [1], limited connection with friends, reduced physical activities [5, 7] and stress and fear of the death of relatives [5]
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