UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator

About the project This initiative brings UK ethics research expertise to bear on the multiple ongoing ethical challenges arising during pandemics. A partnership between the Universities of Oxford, Bristol, Edinburgh, University College London, and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, it seeks to provide rapid evidence, guidance and critical analysis to decision-makers and to support public […]

Governance: Ethics, Data and Procurement

During the pandemic, AHRC-funded research has examined questions relating to legal and ethical preparedness and responsiveness within health and social care and in government. Studies cover public sector procurement, COVID-19 related fraud, the use and management of data by the public sector, and vaccine development, uptake and delivery. They have identified a need for cross-departmental […]

Ethics, Law, and Governance

An Urgent Review of Single Source Procurement During the Pandemic Recommendations for Best Practice and Reform Dr Luke Butler(University of Nottingham) Children, acceptable health risks and COVID-19 Ethical guidance for a fair policy response Dr Sapfo Lignou(University of Oxford) Combatting Gendered, Sexual and Online Harms and Risks During the COVID-19 Pandemic Developing Resources for Young […]

When Pandemic and Everyday Ethics Collide: Supporting Ethical Decision Making in Maternity Care and Paediatrics During the COVID-19 Pandemic

About the project This project focused on how the pandemic response created significant ethical issues for providers of non-COVID-19 services when deciding how to prioritise and reconfigure services in maternity care and paediatrics. It conducted a rapid review of policy making processes with decision makers, testing their ethics approaches, and examined their application in clinical […]

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Blog

Masking emotions & sterilising care: ‘reset’ ethics and the unintended consequences of COVID-19

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused far-reaching consequences for health systems worldwide. In responding to the pandemic, decision-makers have to balance competing interests and difficult trade-offs have to be made. We are told that Government guidance continues to ‘follow the science’, but such guidance must also be values-based. Transparency in the values that underpin those […]

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 […]

Publications

Final Pandemic & Beyond Project Report published 8 December 2022 SETTING AN ETHICAL DIRECTION: how the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry can learn from research in the arts and humanities Report co-commissioned with the UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator; published 8 December 2022

Lex-Atlas COVID-19: A Comparative Study of National Legal Responses to COVID-19

About the project Lex-Atlas aimed to provide an integrated overview of national legal responses to COVID-19. It analysed how countries deployed emergency legislation within their constitutional and socio-political contexts and examined how different forms of disruption, or variations in social policy coverage and care of human rights ensued. It attempted a neutral account of the […]

Ensuring respect for human rights in locked down care homes

About the project This research examined and interrogated decision making and working practices in care homes under lockdown, with a view to understanding how to embed robust human rights in care settings in the context of the extraordinary pressures created by the COVID-19 public health emergency. The research was conducted as an extension of the […]