Thematic analysis of national online narratives on regular asymptomatic testing in schools in the United Kingdom

Abstract Objective: To understand the public perceptions of the schools testing programme in England. Design: Qualitative social media analysis. Setting: Online users of parenting forums (Mumsnet and Netmums), Facebook and Daily Mail online readers, who responded to randomly selected posts or articles about the schools testing programme in England, between 1 and 31 March, 2021. Results: Overall, seven main themes were identified, these were divided into barriers and facilitators to engaging in testing. Barriers were: uncertainty around testing in the absence of symptoms; concerns about testing; concern about testing positive; mistrust in the Government. Facilitators were: desire to protect others; desire to return to normality; and hearing others’ positive experiences. Conclusions: Our analysis highlighted that alongside well-established barriers to engaging in asymptomatic testing, parents were having to negotiate additional complex decisions around balancing their child’s anxiety over testing alongside acknowledgement of the implications of regular testing, such as return to normality and protecting others. Parents and children would benefit from additional practical and social support to facilitate engagement with the schools testing programme.