Critical Reflections on COVID-19 Communication Efforts Targeting Adolescents and Young Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends social distancing (We use the term social distancing in concordance with the CDC, but note the call to shift to the use of physical distancing as a more appropriate term) as a prevention strategy for COVID-19; however, there is evidence this recommendation has not been taken seriously by adolescent and young adult (AYA) populations. One public example of this was the participation of many students in traditional Spring Break activities at a time when the World Health Organization had already declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the U.S. had 1,000 confirmed cases. Critical reflection on why AYAs have not taken the threat more seriously is necessary to more effectively engage them in future efforts to slow the spread of the virus. The public health messages aimed at AYAs need to be evaluated for the extent to which they follow best practices in message design such as being grounded in theory and developed in a participatory manner. To date, COVID-19 messaging for AYA populations has been deficient in both these areas.