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Study finds those on CU Boulder and CSU campuses showed high levels of mask use and positive attitudes about masks during pandemic

The vast majority of听students at Colorado鈥檚 top universities听and 52 other schools nationwide wore face masks properly听in 2021,听indicating听that students understood masks鈥櫶齟ffectiveness, that students knew masking helped them take more classes in person, and that听students care about the health of others, researchers have found.

础听听from听the University of Colorado听Boulder, Colorado State University听(CSU)听and听the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found听that听more than 90% of people on听CU Boulder and CSU听campuses wore masks correctly amid the pandemic during spring 2021.The听study,听titled,听","听was听published听this month听by听BMC Public Health, a peer-reviewed journal听focused on听public health.听

Specifically,听researchers found听that听91.7%, 93.4%, and 90.8% of people听observed at indoor locations on campuses听wore masks听correctly at听CU听Boulder, CSU and across 52 other schoolsnationally, respectively.听Researchers also found that听92.9% of respondents at CU听Boulder听and 89.8% at CSU believed听that wearing masks can protect the health of others.

Both Colorado universities saw their largest surges in COVID-19 cases in the fall of 2020, with markedly lower-case counts during the mask observation window听of eight weeks听in the spring of 2021.

鈥淭he听study supports the idea that masks are an effective, low-cost measure to reduce disease transmission and establishes masking as a viable way to reduce respiratory disease transmission on college campuses,鈥� says听Tanya听Alderete, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology at CU听Boulder听and a principal investigator听of the project.

鈥淲e also learned that听students strongly prefer in-person education to remote, and masking behaviors were supportive of this preference.鈥�

Molly听Gutilla, a faculty member at the Colorado School of Public Health at CSU and a听principal investigator, agrees with听Alderete听and adds,听鈥淭he majority of students care about the health of their community,听and听they听were willing to practice and promote actions to protect campus health.鈥�

Gutilla听adds, 鈥淥perating a university during the pandemic emphasized something听we鈥檝e always听known,听yet听was brought to the forefront.听That is, that our campus communities听must be safe and healthy to meet our mission of teaching, learning and conducting research. Using data to make decisions was essential to keeping campuses听open and functioning as best as possible during the pandemic.鈥�

Alderete, who holds an adjunct faculty position at the Colorado School of Public Health, says when she learned听Gutilla听was a principal investigator听at CSU, they decided to partner in the听study. 鈥淎s a result, we were able to identify complementary data sources that were available on both campuses, including student surveys and COVID testing data,鈥澨鼳lderete听says.听

The study was part of the CDC鈥檚 effort to measure mask use on U.S. campuses,听called听the mask adherence and surveillance at colleges and universities project (MASCUP!). From Feb.听15 through April 11, 2021,听CU Boulder听made鈥�2,808 observations,听CSU听had鈥�3,225 observations, andat the听52 other institutes of higher education听there were听100,353 observations spanning 21 states and the District of Columbia.听

We were able to see that our findings were consistent across two campuses鈥攚ith generally similar rates of mask use and student belief in masking to reduce COVID transmission.鈥�

Kevin Clark, a graduate research assistant in the Department of Integrative Physiology and lead author of the study, says听the collaboration between CU Boulder and CSU听鈥渟trengthened the generalizability鈥澨齩f听the听findings on both campuses.听

鈥淚nstead of presenting either of our campuses as an individual location where we observed mask use and reported student opinions, we were able to see that our findings were consistent across two campuses鈥攚ith generally similar rates of mask use and student belief in masking to reduce COVID transmission,鈥� Clark says.

He also praised the leadership of CU Boulder鈥檚 COVID Scientific Committee for听its听help in conducting surveys to gather student opinions and in incorporating testing data into the project.听

鈥淚听gained a tremendous appreciation for the number of different people and resources at CU Boulder and CSU that were dedicated to monitoring COVID and creating policies and practices for keeping campuses safe,鈥� Clark says.听

鈥淚 was very impressed by the scale and accuracy of the saliva-based surveillance testing program that CU听Boulder听had developed and deployed, running hundreds of thousands of surveillance tests. This technology was promptly shared with CSU to use on their campus. We also were surprised to learn how similar masking behaviors and opinions were between CU and CSU.鈥�

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