Ah-choo! children’s and adults’ understanding of the common cold and COVID-19

The common cold and COVID-19 are now common viruses, and have different histories and patterns of public knowledge and understanding. COVID-19 has had extensive, scientifically validated public health messaging and education campaigns, while information about colds is passed on informally, often referring to folk theories (getting cold/wet causes a cold). The current study represents the first known investigation into Australians’ understanding of these illnesses across different age groups. A total of 543 participants (87 children, 131 pre-adolescents, 65 adolescents, and 260 adults), aged between 4 and 81, answered four open-ended questions: “What is a cold/COVID?” and “How do you catch a cold/COVID?”. Responses were categorised as Scientific (referring to viral or contact-based causes) or Non-scientific (referring to folk theories, co-existing folk/scientific causes, or other reasons). Binomial analyses revealed that overall, people were more likely to hold a Scientific than Non-scientific understanding of both illnesses. However, for colds, this greater proportion of Scientific answers was true only for adults, and pre-adult groups showed no more Scientific answers than expected by chance. For COVID-19, all age groups held similarly high, above?chance levels of Scientific understanding. These findings suggest that education, along with experience, influences understanding. Education is, therefore, essential as people with a scientific understanding of illness are more likely to follow protective health behaviours, which is beneficial for both personal and public health.