Influence of the H1N1 pandemic on university students' knowledge of influenza.

BACKGROUND: Avoidance of influenza among college students requires understanding the risks for falling ill, outcomes of this disease, and utilizing methods to prevent developing influenza. We hypothesized that the behavior and knowledge of college students in the midst of a pandemic situation would be different than that during a regular influenza season. METHODS: We evaluated influenza knowledge of 311 university students in 2008 prior to and 318 students during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic using voluntary online surveys that contained 25 questions regarding vaccination behaviors and influenza knowledge. Data were analyzed according to year and vaccination uptake. RESULTS: Very similar overall knowledge levels were found in the two cohorts independent of vaccination status. Both cohorts overestimated the prevalence of influenza and the number of people hospitalized due to influenza, but underestimated the number of deaths. Vaccination rates for seasonal influenza were in the two cohorts about 36 percent. By contrast, 4.8 percent participants had received the H1N1 vaccine, 40.1 percent intended to and 54.8 percent had no intentions of being vaccinated. CONCLUSIONS: The overall knowledge levels and vaccination behaviors of college students were not affected by the presence of an influenza pandemic. However, students' responses displayed a shift in belief toward greater rates of hospitalization and deaths in the 2009 sample, suggesting a change in perception due to the ongoing pandemic.