Patricia Wonch Hill and Julia McQuillan are co-investigators for a National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research grant which funded the study "Accuracy of COVID-19 relevant knowledge among youth: Number of information sources matters," published in the journal PLOS ONE. Wonch Hill, research associate professor in the Department of Sociology, is lead author and led the social science research, conducting the data collection and analysis. Co-authors include McQuillan, a Willa Cather professor, and Meghan Leadabrand, project coordinator of Worlds of Connections and Husker alumna, both from the department. Additional Husker colleagues include Judy Diamond (principal investigator), Liz VanWormer (co-investigator), and Amy Spiegel.
The researchers surveyed youth in grades 5–9 in a Midwestern United States school district in the winter of 2020–2021. They found that the comics increased youth knowledge about COVID-19 and that youth who reported more information sources about the COVID-19 pandemic had more accurate knowledge.
The grant also funded the creation of "C'rona Comix," a collaborative effort between the researchers and illustrator and alumnus Bob Hall.
