Scenes of Shame and Stigma in COVID-19

Case Study The AHRC funded Scenes of Shame and Stigma in COVID-19 research project, part of the Shame and Medicine project, identifies and investigates the sites and circumstances of shame, shaming, stigma and discrimination during the first 12 months (January-December 2020) of the COVID-19 public health crisis in the UK. The research looks at how […]

Scenes of Shame and Stigma in COVID-19

About the project This research examined the way in which the COVID-19 pandemic has led to scenes and experiences of shame: around catching and transmitting the virus, and behaving in ways deemed to be irresponsible, stupid, or selfish. Findings showed that some interventions during the pandemic caused or heightened shame, when public health (both viral […]

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 […]

Co-design and implement a COVID-19 vaccine uptake intervention within Chinese Communities in England

About the project This project investigated the determinants of Chinese communities’ COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, as well as the facilitators of vaccination uptake. The cross-disciplinary project team, including specialists in community-based research, communicative intervention design, health and strategic communication, who worked in partnership with Chinese communities in Greater Manchester and Leicester to co-design research that informed […]

Skills and Training

Innovation and adaptation, including the move to digital, has been a feature of individual and organisational response to the pandemic across the arts and creative sector.  Arts and Humanities research exploring this has exposed a need for wide-ranging skills development and training in the cultural sector to support future inclusion and accessibility and to ensure […]

Guidance, Messaging and Behaviour Change

Arts and Humanities research during the pandemic has been vital in helping us understand how public health messages are received within different communities, how communication platforms affect interpretation and reach, and how effective messaging can combat misinformation and build public trust.  Researchers have investigated how rumours and conspiracy theories originate, how they spread and the […]

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The pandemic has highlighted systemic inequalities across society. An interest in exploring and addressing these has been explicit in or threaded through many of the AHRC-funded COVID-19 studies.  Researchers have explored how public health messaging might better reach different communities. They have also shone a spotlight on experiences of racism for people working in the […]

Knowing the Pandemic: Communication, Information and Experience

Communication & data analysis This group of projects focuses on tracking and understanding how information about the pandemic has been spread and understood by diverse communities. Design These projects have made strong interventions in understanding and improving design for healthcare settings and other public services. Experience These research projects have used creative methodologies to investigate […]

Routes of Infection, Routes to Safety: Creative Mapping of Human-Viral Behaviours on the Bus to Understand Infection Prevention Practices

About the project Public transport use dropped during the pandemic, after government guidance advised against non-essential travel. This added to existing stigma about the dirtiness of buses. SARS-CoV-2’s invisibility to the naked eye, and inconsistencies in public scientific understanding, create challenges in how stakeholders communicate infection prevention and how bus users respond. Research for this […]