Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year

Emily J Nixon; Adam J W Trickey; Hannah Christensen; Adam Finn; Amy Thomas; Caroline L Relton; Clara M Montgomery; Gibran Hemani; Jane Metz; Josephine G Walker; Katherine Mary Elizabeth Turner; Rachel Kwiatkowska; Sarah Sauchelli; Leon Danon; Ellen Brooks Pollock

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9

Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year

Emily J Nixon^*, Adam J W Trickey, Hannah Christensen, Adam Finn, Amy Thomas, Caroline L Relton, Clara M Montgomery, Gibran Hemani, Jane Metz, Josephine G Walker, Katherine Mary Elizabeth Turner, Rachel Kwiatkowska, Sarah Sauchelli, Leon Danon, Ellen Brooks Pollock

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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Abstract

University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for University of Bristol (UoB) staff/students. Here, we analyse results from 740 students providing 1261 unique records from the start of the 2020/2021 academic year (14/09/2020–01/11/2020), where COVID-19 outbreaks led to the self-isolation of all students in some halls of residences. Although most students reported lower daily contacts than in pre-COVID-19 studies, there was heterogeneity, with some reporting many (median = 2, mean = 6.1, standard deviation = 15.0; 8% had ≥ 20 contacts). Around 40% of students’ contacts were with individuals external to the university, indicating potential for transmission to non-students/staff. Only 61% of those reporting cardinal symptoms in the past week self-isolated, although 99% with a positive COVID-19 test during the 2 weeks before survey completion had self-isolated within the last week. Some students who self-isolated had many contacts (mean = 4.3, standard deviation = 10.6). Our results provide context to the COVID-19 outbreaks seen in universities and are available for modelling future outbreaks and informing policy.

Original language	English
Article number	11728
Number of pages	13
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9
Publication status	Published - 3 Jun 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to thank the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for funding this research, our RedCap data manager Alison Horne and our PPI group for their feedback during the development of the survey. We would also like to thank all the participants who have taken part in this study.

Funding Information:
This study was funded and supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute. HC, AF, KT, and EBP would like to acknowledge support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol. HC is additionally funded through an NIHR Career Development Fellowship [CDF-2018-11-ST2-015]. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. CR is a member of the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit and receives support from the MRC (MC_UU_00011/5) and the University of Bristol. ATh is supported by Wellcome (217509/Z/19/Z). EBP, EN and LD are supported by UKRI through the JUNIPER consortium (Grant Number MR/V038613/1). LD and EBP are further supported by MRC (Grant Number MC/PC/19067). LD acknowledges funding from EPSRC (EP/V051555/1 and The Alan Turing Institute, Grant EP/N510129/1).

Funding Information:
JGW has received research funding from Gilead Sciences unrelated to this research. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

Research Groups and Themes

Covid19

Keywords

human behaviour
infectious diseases
viral infection

Access to Document

10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9

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This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Nature Research at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91156-9 . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.
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CONQUEST data from start of 2020/2021 academic year
Nixon, E. (Creator), Trickey, A. (Creator) & Pollock, E. B. (Creator), University of Bristol, 18 May 2021
DOI: 10.5523/bris.2jxe5mx7gzbku2dekvlmbcwwhk, http://data.bris.ac.uk/data/dataset/2jxe5mx7gzbku2dekvlmbcwwhk
Dataset

Cite this

Nixon, E. J., Trickey, A. J. W., Christensen, H., Finn, A., Thomas, A., Relton, C. L., Montgomery, C. M., Hemani, G., Metz, J., Walker, J. G., Turner, K. M. E., Kwiatkowska, R., Sauchelli, S., Danon, L., & Brooks Pollock, E. (2021). Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year. Scientific Reports, 11(1), Article 11728. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9

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abstract = "University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for University of Bristol (UoB) staff/students. Here, we analyse results from 740 students providing 1261 unique records from the start of the 2020/2021 academic year (14/09/2020–01/11/2020), where COVID-19 outbreaks led to the self-isolation of all students in some halls of residences. Although most students reported lower daily contacts than in pre-COVID-19 studies, there was heterogeneity, with some reporting many (median = 2, mean = 6.1, standard deviation = 15.0; 8% had ≥ 20 contacts). Around 40% of students{\textquoteright} contacts were with individuals external to the university, indicating potential for transmission to non-students/staff. Only 61% of those reporting cardinal symptoms in the past week self-isolated, although 99% with a positive COVID-19 test during the 2 weeks before survey completion had self-isolated within the last week. Some students who self-isolated had many contacts (mean = 4.3, standard deviation = 10.6). Our results provide context to the COVID-19 outbreaks seen in universities and are available for modelling future outbreaks and informing policy.",

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note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for funding this research, our RedCap data manager Alison Horne and our PPI group for their feedback during the development of the survey. We would also like to thank all the participants who have taken part in this study. Funding Information: This study was funded and supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute. HC, AF, KT, and EBP would like to acknowledge support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol. HC is additionally funded through an NIHR Career Development Fellowship [CDF-2018-11-ST2-015]. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. CR is a member of the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit and receives support from the MRC (MC_UU_00011/5) and the University of Bristol. ATh is supported by Wellcome (217509/Z/19/Z). EBP, EN and LD are supported by UKRI through the JUNIPER consortium (Grant Number MR/V038613/1). LD and EBP are further supported by MRC (Grant Number MC/PC/19067). LD acknowledges funding from EPSRC (EP/V051555/1 and The Alan Turing Institute, Grant EP/N510129/1). Funding Information: JGW has received research funding from Gilead Sciences unrelated to this research. All other authors declare no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",

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Nixon, EJ , Trickey, AJW , Christensen, H , Finn, A , Thomas, A, Relton, CL, Montgomery, CM, Hemani, G , Metz, J , Walker, JG, Turner, KME, Kwiatkowska, R , Sauchelli, S , Danon, L & Brooks Pollock, E 2021, 'Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year', Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 11728. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91156-9

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AU - Trickey, Adam J W

AU - Christensen, Hannah

AU - Finn, Adam

AU - Thomas, Amy

AU - Relton, Caroline L

AU - Montgomery, Clara M

AU - Hemani, Gibran

AU - Metz, Jane

AU - Walker, Josephine G

AU - Turner, Katherine Mary Elizabeth

AU - Kwiatkowska, Rachel

AU - Sauchelli, Sarah

AU - Danon, Leon

AU - Brooks Pollock, Ellen

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for funding this research, our RedCap data manager Alison Horne and our PPI group for their feedback during the development of the survey. We would also like to thank all the participants who have taken part in this study. Funding Information: This study was funded and supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute. HC, AF, KT, and EBP would like to acknowledge support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol. HC is additionally funded through an NIHR Career Development Fellowship [CDF-2018-11-ST2-015]. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. CR is a member of the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit and receives support from the MRC (MC_UU_00011/5) and the University of Bristol. ATh is supported by Wellcome (217509/Z/19/Z). EBP, EN and LD are supported by UKRI through the JUNIPER consortium (Grant Number MR/V038613/1). LD and EBP are further supported by MRC (Grant Number MC/PC/19067). LD acknowledges funding from EPSRC (EP/V051555/1 and The Alan Turing Institute, Grant EP/N510129/1). Funding Information: JGW has received research funding from Gilead Sciences unrelated to this research. All other authors declare no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).

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N2 - University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for University of Bristol (UoB) staff/students. Here, we analyse results from 740 students providing 1261 unique records from the start of the 2020/2021 academic year (14/09/2020–01/11/2020), where COVID-19 outbreaks led to the self-isolation of all students in some halls of residences. Although most students reported lower daily contacts than in pre-COVID-19 studies, there was heterogeneity, with some reporting many (median = 2, mean = 6.1, standard deviation = 15.0; 8% had ≥ 20 contacts). Around 40% of students’ contacts were with individuals external to the university, indicating potential for transmission to non-students/staff. Only 61% of those reporting cardinal symptoms in the past week self-isolated, although 99% with a positive COVID-19 test during the 2 weeks before survey completion had self-isolated within the last week. Some students who self-isolated had many contacts (mean = 4.3, standard deviation = 10.6). Our results provide context to the COVID-19 outbreaks seen in universities and are available for modelling future outbreaks and informing policy.

AB - University students have unique living, learning and social arrangements which may have implications for infectious disease transmission. To address this data gap, we created CONQUEST (COroNavirus QUESTionnaire), a longitudinal online survey of contacts, behaviour, and COVID-19 symptoms for University of Bristol (UoB) staff/students. Here, we analyse results from 740 students providing 1261 unique records from the start of the 2020/2021 academic year (14/09/2020–01/11/2020), where COVID-19 outbreaks led to the self-isolation of all students in some halls of residences. Although most students reported lower daily contacts than in pre-COVID-19 studies, there was heterogeneity, with some reporting many (median = 2, mean = 6.1, standard deviation = 15.0; 8% had ≥ 20 contacts). Around 40% of students’ contacts were with individuals external to the university, indicating potential for transmission to non-students/staff. Only 61% of those reporting cardinal symptoms in the past week self-isolated, although 99% with a positive COVID-19 test during the 2 weeks before survey completion had self-isolated within the last week. Some students who self-isolated had many contacts (mean = 4.3, standard deviation = 10.6). Our results provide context to the COVID-19 outbreaks seen in universities and are available for modelling future outbreaks and informing policy.

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KW - viral infection

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IS - 1

M1 - 11728

ER -

Contacts and behaviours of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the 2020/2021 academic year

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Groups and Themes

Keywords

Access to Document

Handle.net

Fingerprint

Datasets

CONQUEST data from start of 2020/2021 academic year

Cite this