Many thanks to the children

Since 2021, more than 2,000 young people and their families have given their time to epidemiological research. This remarkable collective effort will provide a better understanding of the medium- and long-term consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health and development of children and adolescents in the canton of Geneva.

By taking a serological sample and completing several online questionnaires, it will be possible to monitor the situation over time. This long-term follow-up is particularly important in epidemiology, as it enables us to obtain reliable results and comparative statistics on their experience of COVID-19 during and after the pandemic.

More broadly, the research teams involved in this study are aiming to gain a better understanding of changes in young people's physical and mental health, based on questions about social and family support, self-esteem, use of screens and social networks, diet, physical activity, sleep, substance use, life and difficulties at school, and perceptions of their future prospects.

Thanks to this wealth of information about Geneva's young population, several articles have already been published or are in the process of being published in international scientific journals. They can be accessed on our "Research".

The teams at the Population Epidemiology Unit would therefore like to thank the young participants in the SeroCoV-KIDS study individually by sending them a gift voucher. This was a way of saluting their commitment to good citizenship, which is helping to encourage a policy of health promotion for the future of the canton's young population.

This initiative is the result of a collaboration with Payot bookshops and Swiss Nature & Découvertes shops. A prize draw enabled some participants in the SEROCoV-KIDS study to win additional vouchers.