Exploring LJMU students’ intentions for future lockdowns due to COVID-19 (What they say and what they would do)

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the way we lived with specific laws and regulations which needed be observed. Given the ongoing risks of the coronavirus, there is still potential for future lockdowns, however little is known about attitudes and intentions towards this. This study explored Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) students’ attitudes towards previous lockdown and restrictions, their attitudes towards future lockdown and restrictions and finally to assess student compliance with lockdown rules and regulations.

Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with students from the Faculty of Health, LJMU. A 25 item self-administered online survey was created which ask participants for 1) demographic data, items and 2) attitudes towards previous COVID-19 pandemic and potential future pandemics. Ethical approval was obtained from the LJMU Research Ethics Committee. The survey was shared with students via email and through posters with a QR code which were displayed in university premises. The collected responses were entered into Microsoft Excel, coded and exported to SPSS 25. Descriptive data statistics were utilised to show frequencies and percentages.

Results: The study sample consisted of 41 participants, of these 65.9% were female and the majority of students were enrolled on the MSc in Public Health (75.6%). The majority of the participants (68.3%) had been infected with COVID-19 at least once. The highest proportion of student felt that the COVID-19 pandemic was ‘a little in the past’ (34.1%) with 29.3% feeling that COVID-19 was still happening. Over a third (36.6%) of participants felt agreed that ending COVID-19 restrictions in the future would carry benefits, with 61.0% of participants stating that any future lockdowns would affect their daily activities. Less than four in ten participants (39.0%) strongly agreed that they complied with all COVID-19 restrictions during the pandemic.

 
Conclusion: Overall LJMU students saw COVID-19 restrictions as a past event. Whilst attitude differences were noted between males and females participants, it should be noted that this study had a small sample size. Concerning intentions related to the future pandemics, university students stated that they wished to end current COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions. Furthermore, it revealed that future pandemics and associated lockdowns would interrupt  their daily activities. If future pandemics or lockdowns were to occur, LJMU should consider their role in providing information sharing strategies, coping mechanisms, and influencing motivations for restriction compliance.