Elementary school students’ understanding of the common cold

This study examines children’s understanding of the causality, treatment, and prevention of the common cold. Using a standardized, developmentally‐based, semi‐structured interview (ASK), 800 children (43 per cent black, 38 per cent white, 18 per cent Hispanic; 48 per cent female) in kindergarten through sixth grade attending six public elementary/middle schools in New Haven, Connecticut, USA were asked open‐ended questions about the causality, treatment, and prevention of the common cold. Responses were scored for factual content. The study found that with increasing grade level, a greater percentage of students mentioned contagion and germs as causes of the cold, medicine as a means of treatment, and avoidance of casual contact as a means of prevention. Common misconceptions were identified across all grade levels. These misconceptions did not decrease as children acquired more factual information about colds. Additionally, these misconceptions did not appear to stem from developmental constraints in children’s ability to comprehend illness concepts, indicating that health education can and should begin early in school.