Redesigning PPE: Enhancing the comfort and safety of healthcare workers wearing isolation gowns to treat patients with COVID-19

Case Study During the pandemic surveys of nursing staff highlighted issues relating to the poor comfort, fit and durability of oversized, isolation gowns. The rudimentary design and fabrication of this personal protective equipment (PPE) was the result of a crisis-managed situation whereby the PPE industry, including new companies, adopted an unsustainable, ‘non-circular’ approach to meet […]

Grading Gowns: Redesigning One-size PPE to Fit and Protect Female Health Workers More Effectively

About the project This research analysed the design and procurement of PPE (personal protective equipment) for the comfort and safety of healthcare workers. It identified a number of key issues relating to gown fabrication, length, fastenings, and intended wear that impeded safe use by healthcare workers, particularly women and women from ethnic minorities. It investigated […]

Outside the Box: Open-Air Performance as a Pandemic Response

Case Study Theatre and performance artists innovated in their open-air practices during the pandemic, addressing the impacts upon the cultural sector and social isolation caused by lockdowns, alongside the ongoing protracted crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Spanning theatre and management studies, Outside the Box: Open Air Performance as a Pandemic Response worked with […]

Models of equitable distribution of vaccines in international law

Case Study Our research project ‘Assessing the viability of access and benefit-sharing models of equitable distribution of vaccines in international law’ predicted that low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) would receive significantly fewer vaccines, and receive them far later, than their developed country neighbours. We sought to understand why this is the case, and, crucially, to understand if […]

Combatting Gendered, Sexual and Online Harms and Risks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Developing Resources for Young People, Parents and Schools

Case Study Sexual and gender-based violence has emerged as a key issue during the pandemic – at home, in schools, on the streets, and online. While digital technologies have helped young people feel connected, they also opened them up to risks and harms such as grooming, harassment, and non-consensual image sharing. Our research responded to […]

Culture Box: Remote and Digital Delivery of Arts and Creative Activities to Improve the Wellbeing of People with Dementia in Care Homes

Case Study People living with dementia in care homes have been severely negatively impacted during the pandemic with those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups disproportionately affected. High rates of mortality, social isolation, loneliness and responsive behaviours (such as restlessness, agitation and wandering) increased as visits from loved ones, artists and creative practitioners […]

COVID-19 CARE: Culture and the Arts, from Restriction to Enhancement: Protecting Mental Health in the Liverpool City Region

Case Study What was the cost to public mental health of restricted access to arts and culture during the Covid-19 pandemic? How successful were alternative (online or digital) modes of arts and cultural provision in reaching and communicating with established or new audiences? This interdisciplinary study collaborated with 15 arts and cultural organisations and 3 […]

Case Studies

Combatting Gendered, Sexual and Online Harms and Risks During the COVID-19 Pandemic Developing Resources for Young People, Parents and Schools Professor Kaitlynn Mendes(University of Leicester) COVID-19 CARE Culture and the Arts, from Restriction to Enhancement: Protecting Mental Health in the Liverpool City Region Professor Josie Billington(University of Liverpool) Cultural Translation and Interpreting of COVID-19 Risks […]

Supporting healthcare professionals through Covid-19: Understanding how arts-based methods can support non-verbal communication

About the project The multidisciplinary research team involved in this project worked with performers to develop and deliver a programme of training and support for frontline NHS staff during the pandemic. A key focus of the work was on developing staff skills and confidence to communicate effectively when wearing PPE might have made this difficult. […]

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Blog

Cartoons and creative solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth perspectives for the future at the Forum for Global Challenges

Charlotte King and Fransiska Louwagie discuss the research collaborations thatĀ haveĀ informed a new education programme to help secondary students to make sense of their pandemic experiences through political cartooning. Blog written in collaboration with Sarah Weidman, Lucie Spicer and the broader Covid in Cartoons team and partners. The Covid in Cartoons team have worked with partners ShoutOutUK and Cartooning for Peace to develop a […]