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 […]

Fraud During a Pandemic

About the project It has been suggested that the global health pandemic has set into motion a similar pandemic of fraud. This project has investigated the rapidly changing nature of fraud during COVID-19 – how it can be understood and mapped by criminal lawyers. The research has considered whether the current landscape for criminalising fraud […]

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 […]

Stay Home Stories: Rethinking the Domestic During the COVID-19 Pandemic

About the project This research recognised the intrinsic domestic dimension of the personal, political and public health response to the pandemic. Researchers documented and analysed the ‘stay home stories’ of adults, young people and children living in diverse homes and households in the UK. They investigated the politics discourse and media coverage of home, as […]

Models of equitable distribution of vaccines in international law

About the project This project sought to understand why low and middle income countries (LMICs) received significantly fewer vaccines in the pandemic and to understand if legal and policy options open to the World Health Organisation could improve this clear injustice. The project team evaluated in real time international efforts to secure improved vaccine access […]

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 […]

The Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Responses to COVID-19 (OMDDAC)

About the project The Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to COVID-19 (OMDDAC) is a collaboration between Northumbria University & the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). OMDDAC researches data-driven approaches to COVID-19, with a focus on legal, ethical, policy and operational challenges. Studies have analysed key data-driven responses to Covid-19 and collated lessons learned throughout the pandemic […]

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

About the project While digital technologies have helped young people feel connected during the pandemic, they also opened them up to risks and harms, such as grooming, harassment, and non-consensual image sharing. For this research project, academics working alongside a sexual education charity gathered evidence through surveys, focus groups and interviews with students, parents, and […]

Policy

These pages bring together policy implications and recommendations emerging from studies within the Pandemic and Beyond portfolio. Follow themed links below for more information about individual studies and to download short policy briefing papers and other resources. Where possible, this information will be updated as findings emerge. The projects appearing on these pages are those […]