University flu prevention campaigns are currently targeting "a whole group that is probably not going to pay any attention," said Carleton neuroscientist Kim Matheson. (CBC)

Young adults are one of the groups hit hardest by H1N1 swine flu, but current tactics may not be effective at curbing the spread of the disease through university classrooms and dormitories, Ottawa researchers say.

"There's no question that they [students] see themselves as invulnerable," said Kim Matheson, a neuroscientist at Carleton University's Centre for Stress Management, who is conducting a study to figure out how to get flu prevention messages through to students. "I think most of them are pretty much ignoring it, primarily because they believe that even if they get it, that they're not going to get very sick."

An informal survey of about 25 Carleton students by a CBC reporter found only two expressed worries about getting swine flu.

According to the World Health Organization, one of swine flu's peculiarities is the high rate of severe illness among young healthy adults who are typically not at high risk from flu.

That has prompted many universities, such as Carleton in Ottawa, to launch flu campaigns aimed at the student population, asking them to take measures such as frequent hand washing.

But that may not be the best approach, Matheson said.

"They're targeting a whole group that is probably not going to pay any attention."

Coolness factor plays role

Currently, Matheson suggested, students may find prevention measures more stressful than the risk of the disease itself.

Carleton researcher Hymie Anisman said the study is trying to identify the young people most likely to influence their peers into adopting flu prevention measures. (CBC)

"It doesn't look very cool to be walking around cleaning your keyboard with Purell," she said, "and making sure that you wash your hands every time you go anywhere or touch anybody."

Hymie Anisman, another neuroscientist at the Centre for Stress Management, is collaborating with Matheson on the study. He suspects it would be possible to identify leaders among the students who are paying attention to flu prevention message, will act on them, and can change the perception of prevention measures among their peers.

"Who can we go to, basically, to get all the rest to follow?" Anisman asked.

He notes that using disposable plastic grocery bags instead of bringing your own reusable ones has recently become a socially unacceptable behaviour that leads to embarrassment — and he says showing up for class sick could come to be seen in a similar light.

That type of peer pressure would be a more effective motivator for students than fear of infection, Anisman says.

It's possible that the trend is already starting. Among the Carleton students interviewed by CBC News, even those who said they aren't concerned about swine flu said they are washing their hands more and using hand sanitizer.

In order to figure out which students to target and support in order to spread flu prevention messages, Matheson and Anisman are asking students to fill out online questionnaires to:

• Test their knowledge of swine flu symptoms, characteristics and prevention measures.
• Gauge their perception of the issue and their reaction.
• Correlate that information with the students' view of their personalities.

Over the next few weeks, the researchers will take the survey to the wider community outside the university to see how different the results are among other age groups.

The researchers are also interested in surveying the students again and measuring their stress hormone levels in February, when they expect that swine flu infection rates will be at their peak. Anisman said they want to compare that to the students' reactions now, when there is conflicting information about the disease and a lot of uncertainty about how bad a second wave of infection might be.

They plan to share their findings with the university and public health officials to help make their prevention campaigns more effective.