Evolution of adherence to effective prevention measures against COVID-19 by young people in secondary school - the influence of school events linked to the pandemic

The project seeks to verify whether since the first wave and its period of confinement, the preventive practices put in place by adolescents against COVID-19 have varied according to their level of exposure to school events linked to the pandemic. Last March, young people saw their lives turned upside down due to the pandemic, having to interrupt their studies and finish the year virtually. Having largely adhered to preventive measures during this period, they have since returned to schools, highlighting the need to monitor the evolution of their adherence to preventive measures and its determinants in this group which could become one of the important vectors of the disease. The project is part of the COMPASS-Québec research platform launched in 2016-17. It welcomes a cohort of more than 4,000 young people from the first to the fourth year of secondary school who responded to an online questionnaire asking about their health, their knowledge, opinions and their behaviors in May-June 2020. This m The same questionnaire will be distributed electronically one year later (spring 2021) to students from the 29 participating schools. Data surrounding school events linked to the pandemic (e.g.: switching classes to virtual mode) will be collected during this interval in collaboration with the educational establishments with which the researchers have established over the years, with the help of management regional public health authorities, a partnership to the benefit of students. Effective preventive measures (e.g.: hand washing, wearing a mask) will have been evaluated at both measurement points. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the impacts of the pandemic on the behavior of young people and its determinants.