Table 1 Thematic Analysis of Student Interest Related to COVID-19
From: Student interest, concerns, and information-seeking behaviors related to COVID-19
Theme | Questions Raised by Students | Exemplar Response | Percentage of Total Respondents (%, N = 224) |
|---|---|---|---|
Origin of COVID-19 | Where and how did COVID-19 emerge? | “Where it had originated from and how it came to be.” | 20.5 |
Vaccines | How do vaccines work? How will vaccines be distributed? Are vaccines safe? | “I am interested in learning about whether there are any current medications/vaccines that can stop the disease before it gets too deep in the body, as well as if they can lessen the symptoms of COVID-19.” | 19.2 |
Transmission | How does COVID-19 spread? | “What it is, how it spreads, that it’s not like the flu, asymptomatic cases.” | 16.5 |
Infection rate | How and why does COVID-19 spread so quickly? | “I think it’s interesting how fast coronavirus has spread.” | 16.1 |
Body’s response | How does COVID-19 affect the body and specific organs? | “How our body deals with it and the effects it has on our body.” | 12.1 |
Biology of COVID-19 | How do viruses like COVID-19 work? How do viruses replicate? | “How it works (what proteins/cells does it attach to/invade? Is it an RNA virus or a DNA virus?)” | 11.6 |
Prevention strategies | How do we prevent spreading? How do we stay safe? | “High school students need to know how to prevent the virus from spreading to them. We should also know how to keep ourselves from spreading it to others, especially because people are age are normally asymptomatic.” | 10.3 |
Symptoms | What are the symptoms? How long do the symptoms last? | “What interests me the most is how there can be so many symptoms.” | 8.0 |
Individual response | Why does COVID-19 affect people differently? | “How it’s more dangerous to some more than others.” | 7.1 |