Personal and Communal Responsibility to Mitigate COVID-19 Spread on a University Campus

Background March 2020 saw colleges and universities close their doors during the nationwide lockdown in response to the virus, SARS-CoV-2. Strategies to educate students while mitigating viral spread were utmost among stakeholders at universities.Purpose This study explores attitudes, behavior and communal responsibility related to mitigating COVID-19 spread on a university campus, using the Health Belief Model.Method A survey was randomly distributed to students and employees at a university campus using repeated cross-sectional design to compare COVID-19 attitudes, mitigating behaviors and communal responsibility.Results The study found that age, gender and race were factors in perceived severity and cues to action. Communal responsibility and higher perceived susceptibility and perceived severity increased the likelihood of engaging in mitigating practices.Discussion Mitigating behaviors were less practiced among those who had a need for social engagement, believed that infection was inevitable, or had pandemic fatigue.Translation to Health Education Practice A multi-pronged approach to health education in a pandemic should incorporate theoretical perspectives to understand motivators to prevent the spread of infections such as perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, cues to action, and communal responsibility. Such motivators are especially important for communities reliant on shared resources and social interactions, such as university settings.