British Ritual Innovation under COVID-19

About the project BRIC-19 studied the creative adaptations made by diverse religious, faith and belief, and local communities across the UK. The project aimed to harness and share this learning to identify and understand the social benefits of ritual in the pandemic and nurture the work of ritual in British society moving forward. They worked […]

COJO for COVID Recovery: Solutions-focused Constructive Journalism as an Exit Strategy for the UK’s Local/Regional Communities

About the project COJO for Covid Recovery investigates whether and how solutions-focused constructive journalism (COJO) can help communities in the UK in their recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 50 journalists working in local and regional outlets across the UK have been trained and mentored to produce a wide range of solutions-oriented stories on how […]

At Home with Children: Learning from Lockdown

About the project This project analysed the lessons from lockdown for how they can help us to re-imagine, refurbish and re-design ‘liveable’ homes for contemporary needs of families with children. The research included a survey of 1246 families about the ways they used or adapted their homes in lockdown, and research interviews about how homes […]

COVID-19 Rumours in Historical Context

About the project This project examined the pandemic of rumour and of disinformation that has accompanied the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK. It took a historical perspective, analysing how and why similar rumours have spread in the past, how previous governments have responded to them, and evaluating how successful these efforts were. The study tracked […]

Coronavirus Discourses: Linguistic Evidence for Effective Public Health Messaging

About the project Understanding the flow and impact of messaging about the pandemic has been of major importance for managing public health responses during the crisis. Messaging about geographic borders and at-risk populations, including those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, proved key challenges for public health partners. This research examined the content and […]

Between environmental concerns and compliance: How does media messaging affect motivation and choice between disposable versus reusable face masks?

About the project During the pandemic single-use masks have caused increasing waste as well as a threat to human health as contaminants they contain move into the human food chain when disposed of in the environment. This project explored the question of whether it was possible to make the process of protection more sustainable overall. […]

Comics in the time of COVID-19: Tracking data on web-based comics and evaluating their potential for communicating public health messages

About the project Our pandemic lives are deeply entwined with visual, web-based public health messages, from instructional hand-washing pictograms to infographics about R numbers. Alongside these official public health communications, people have created thousands of web-based comics conveying public health messages. In 2021 this Bournemouth University-based research team collected a sample of over 15,000 ‘COVID […]

Communicating the Pandemic

About the project This project explored the challenges involved in communicating information effectively to all parts of the British population during the pandemic. A multi-wave nationally-representative survey collected data from UK adults during 2020. Analysis was able to identify distinct population groups and characterise them by differences in experience, values, attitude, and behaviour. Understanding of […]

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 […]

Covid in Cartoons

About the project Young people have faced very particular challenges during the pandemic, with some being left feeling very disempowered. Developing skills in political cartooning offers one way for people to make sense of their experience. Research findings suggest that the skills involved may have particular impact for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Working with partners […]