Table 4 Recommendations for effective and inclusive messaging for young people

i) Involve and consult young people at all stages of planning and decision making about communication and messaging for their age groups

• Set up a Youth Advisory Group as a key stakeholder in any national pandemic planning unit so that young people are represented at all stages of the process

• Engage with Youth Parliaments and other national networks representing young people

• Ensure engagement with a broad and diverse range of young people including marginalised or disenfranchised groups

• Ensure appropriate channels of communication are used, including social media, and consider how to reach marginalized or disenfranchised groups (e.g. reaching out via community groups, faith leaders, youth workers)

ii) Recognise how young people are influenced and how they influence others

• Understand the role of influencers and people in positions of authority whose behaviour can influence and guide young people’s decisions. Identify who these people are early on and involve them in the communication with young people

• Understand the importance of peer group behaviour in adolescence, and consider ways to use this positively and creatively

iii) Include young people in constructive ways to help their communities

• Set up systems whereby young people can volunteer locally to deliver food or other essential items to more vulnerable members of their community

• Facilitate young people to connect with older people who may be more likely to suffer loneliness related to isolation, exacerbating the long-term consequences of the pandemic

iv) Consider the diversity of young people and do not expect them all to react in the same way to messages or actions

• Take context into account when shaping public health messages by adopting community focused practices, for example by partnering with community organisation

• Create an inclusive and comfortable environment for young people to feel able to share their views honestly, for example by using peer-facilitators

• Ensure that people from diverse social and cultural communities are represented in consultations and development of messaging and support services

• Identify who trusted sources of authority are for different groups of young people, by asking the young people

• Work with these trusted sources to develop communication strategies that are more likely to be effective

v) Recognise the importance of positive messaging towards young people and their behaviour

• Emphasise what young people can actively do to reduce the spread of the virus and harness these groups as agents of change

• Recognise the role of mainstream media and it’s portrayal of young people. Seek to counteract negative media that unfairly portrays young people as ‘rule breakers’

• Leaders should acknowledge the disproportionate impact of restrictions on young people and address groups within this population (e.g. school pupils, university and college students) directly and frequently. Leaders should also motivate young people’s sense of social responsibility and encourage them to act accordingly to collectively help prevent the spread of the virus