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This small-scale qualitative research project is located within post-compulsory education in England and explores some of the strategies and responses employed by three initial teacher educators to carry out their professional role while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The central argument is that teacher identity was significant as a pedagogical tool to respond to the pandemic. Therefore, more consideration should be given to the interconnectedness of who I am, what I do and why I do it, when pedagogical responses are needed to address emergent issues. The first part of the paper paints a picture of the available literature related to learning during covid-19, followed by an articulation of the research design. The second part discusses the relationship between identity and pedagogy, which is the central theme constructed from the data gathered from the research participants. It closes with a reflection about how educators as a collective have shown resilience and creative ways to deal with challenges, thus adding new layers of their identity, and this can be pedagogically powerful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonprofit organizations operating in civil society have become the main channel for social service provision in most neoliberal welfare economies. Social service nonprofits (SSNs) deliver essential services mainly to vulnerable and marginalized populations. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, SSNs have been at the frontline of dealing with its socioeconomic consequences. This paper focuses on the activities and responses to the crisis of SSNs in Israel. Interviews with SSN directors (N = 17) show that they dealt with growing demands for services due to the social implications of the pandemic, along with operational difficulties, such as deterioration in clients' condition, disruption in service continuity, and reduced funding and staff. Next to these difficulties, the findings highlighted the social innovations adopted by SSNs to maintain service provision, such as implementing remote service technologies, forming collaborations, and recruiting volunteers. Implications for the social services and policies are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted societies globally. Public health institutions were tasked with responding to the pandemic in a dynamic and uncertain context. This paper sheds light on the experiences of COVID-19 response actors as they navigated multi-dimensional crises associated with the pandemic in general and vaccine hesitancy in particular. This research was conducted during the initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Flanders, Belgium. Participants included informants across all levels of the COVID-19 vaccination strategy including but not limited to those producing scientific knowledge, providing policy input, or implementing public health directives locally. 'Crisis' was identified as a recurring theme in interviews with informants. The paper highlights multi-dimensional crises experienced by informants such as the: (i) crisis of prioritization, (ii) crisis of communication, (iii) crisis of the changing image of science, (iv) crisis of epistemic agency and autonomy, and (v) crisis of trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency situations such as pandemics typically widen inequities, and Australian children and young people with disability already face significant inequities in the education system. In this paper we draw on survey data from over 700 respondents exploring education experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many families reported being left behind, finding it difficult to access education remotely, and that this was having a significant impact on wellbeing and mental health. We find that of all support offered by schools, social supports have a stronger association with learner engagement than educational interventions. This finding indicates the importance of social and emotional supports in learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted education for most learners; There is good evidence to suggest this impact is felt more keenly by students with disability, because there is disability discrimination in the Australian education system; This paper reports survey responses from over 700 families of students with disability exploring the impact of COVID-19 on education; Many families report being left behind and that students found it difficult to learn away from the school campus, which for many students and families led to poorer wellbeing and mental health; Our results suggest that supporting students to have social contact with peers made the biggest impact on students with disability feeling engaged with learning during this time. This shows it is important for teachers and schools to pay attention to social as well as educational aspects of school life when thinking about how to educate students with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building upon two previously published research papers exploring Canadian media reporting of childhood in the first wave of the pandemic, this paper investigates how constructions of childhood evolved from the first wave to the fourth wave of the pandemic. This qualitative research is guided by the central research question: Over the span of 2 years, from 2020 to 2022, what changes are evident in discourses reported within media focused on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on Canadians under the age of 18 years? Findings from this study suggest that in the fourth wave young people were constructed as innocent victims of pandemic restrictions framed through an adult-centric lens; noticeably absent were representations of young people under the age of 18 in their voices. A key recommendation emerged from this study: any future research investigating the impact of the pandemic on young people under aged 18 years must include their full participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research examines the implementation of the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM) in Canada to identify opportunities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic to re-design our social eco-system to promote wellbeing. This paper has two objectives: 1) to provide a conceptual review of research that applies the bioecological model to youth substance use prevention with a focus on the concepts of time and physical space use and 2) to describe a case study that examines the implementation of the IPM in Canada within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Study data were collected through semistructured qualitative interviews with key stakeholders involved in implementing the IPM. Results: Findings are organized within three over-arching themes derived from a thematic analysis: 1) Issues that influence time and space use patterns and youth substance use, 2) Family and community cohesion and influences on developmental context and time use and 3) Opportunities presented by the pandemic that can promote youth wellbeing. Conclusion: We apply the findings to research on the IPM as well as the pandemic to examine opportunities that may support primary prevention and overall youth wellbeing. We use the concepts of time and space as a foundation to discuss implications for policy and practice going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 2020, when the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Switzerland, the federal government started implementing measures such as national stay-at-home recommendations and a strict limitation of health care services use. General practitioners (GPs) and their at-risk patients faced similar uncertainties and grappled with subsequent sensemaking of the unprecedented situation. Qualitative interviews with 24 GPs and 37 at-risk patients were conducted which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Weick's (1993) four sources of -resilience – improvisation, virtual role systems, attitudes of wisdom and respectful interaction – heuristically guide the exploration of on-the-ground experiences and informal ways GPs and their at-risk patients sought to ensure continuity of primary care. GPs used their metaphorical Swiss army knives of learned tools as well as existing knowledge and relationships to adapt to the extenuating circumstances. Through improvisation, GPs and patients found pragmatic solutions, such as using local farmer apple brandy as disinfectant or at-home treatments of clavicle fractures. Through virtual role systems, GPs and patients came to terms with new and shifting roles, such as "good soldier" and "at-risk patient" categorizations. Both parties adopted attitudes of wisdom by accepting that they could not know everything. They also diversified their sources of information through personal relationships, formal networks, and the internet. The GP-patient relationship grew in importance through respectful interaction, and intersubjective reflection helped make sense of shifting roles and ambiguous guidelines. The empirical analysis of this paper contributes to theoretical considerations of sensemaking, resilience, crisis settings and health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs the therapeutic landscape theory to explore how online religious services during lockdown restrictions shape experiences of well-being and intergenerational learning. We used qualitative data from in depth interviews and focus groups with older adults and pastors in five churches in Ghana to explore how online religious places are conceptualized as therapeutic landscapes for sustaining wellbeing goals amidst a global pandemic. We identified multiple pathways of meaning through which online religious services shape the lives of people in a faith community to sustain the experience of well-being in a difficult time. In addition, this paper reflects on the broader implications of COVID-19 in shaping a paradigm shift in digital religion and intergenerational learning experiences through a changing religious landscape precipitated by lockdown restrictions that have drastically altered traditional religious places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented natural experiment in drug policy, treatment delivery, and harm reduction strategies by exposing wide variation in public health infrastructures and social safety nets around the world. Using qualitative data including ethnographic methods, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with people who use drugs (PWUD) and Delphi-method with experts from field sites spanning 13 different countries, this paper compares national responses to substance use during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Field data was collected by the Substance Use x COVID-19 (SU x COVID) Data Collaborative, an international network of social scientists, public health scientists, and community health practitioners convened to identify and contextualise health service delivery models and social protections that influence the health and wellbeing of PWUD during COVID-19. Findings suggest that countries with stronger social welfare systems pre-COVID introduced durable interventions targeting structural drivers of health. Countries with fragmented social service infrastructures implemented temporary initiatives for PWUD led by non-governmental organisations. The paper summarises the most successful early pandemic responses seen across countries and ends by calling for greater systemic investments in social protections for PWUD, diversion away from criminal-legal systems toward health interventions, and integrated harm reduction, treatment and recovery supports for PWUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some countries, far-reaching 'lockdown' measures to contain the spread of coronavirus were implemented early in 2020. In Austria, these early measures were met with a high degree of compliance among the country's population. In this paper, we draw upon qualitative interviews, and ask how people made sense of the restrictions imposed during the first lockdown in April 2020 and what shaped their compliance. Empirical research has so far tried to explain compliance by means of people's disposition and motivations as well as demographic and social characteristics. Instead of focussing on who is compliant, we aim to understand how people practice compliance. We do this by approaching compliance through the concepts of values and practice. First, our findings indicate that people assess whether measures are suitable and legitimate in relation to the values of science, the law, and morality. Second, people assign additional personal value to compliance by stressing its positive implications on their own lives. By adopting a nuanced perspective on compliance as inextricably linked to peoples' values and practices, our paper critically contributes to the political and scholarly discussion of pandemic public health measures. Understanding compliance through the lens of values shows how people make sense of the measures in the context of their everyday lives, helping us to move away from a binary understanding of (non-)compliance that has become morally charged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has suggested that older trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people may face particular challenges related to stigma, social exclusion and discrimination in later life. However, direct data on social support and needs in older TGNC population both internationally and within the UK is limited due to the small, dispersed nature of this population, and the absence of specific data collection on aging TGNC populations. During the UK COVID-19 lockdown in summer 2020, older people and those with long-term health conditions were advised to adopt particular precautions. This study aimed to explore older TGNC people's social support networks, key concerns and unmet needs during the COVID-19 'lockdown'. A UK cross-sectional survey of LGBT + people aged 60+ (n = 375) was undertaken during the lockdown. This paper analyses responses from the subset (n = 38) of TGNC participants. The majority of TGNC respondents described diverse social networks, often centered around friends and non-kin social networks, although partners and adult children were also significant for some. In most cases, those with existing strong networks continued to maintain social connections during lockdown, albeit with some regrets about loss of activities and face-to-face connection. However, a minority of respondents had experienced greater challenges prior to lockdown, and may have been at increased vulnerability during the pandemic, for example indicating that they had no-one to call on for practical support in an emergency. When asked about unmet needs and challenges, social isolation was repeatedly raised as the most frequent concern. Several respondents also mentioned issues specifically affecting TGNC communities, including access to gender affirming care and a perceived rise in social intolerance. Health and social care providers should be aware of the diversity of support networks within TGNC communities. There may also be benefits in community sector interventions to help older TGNC build and maintain strong social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The news media has consistently promoted weight loss as a solution to the "obesity epidemic", despite research refuting the connection between fatness and health. In this paper, I examine the framing of weight loss in news articles during lockdown months of 2020, addressing whether healthist ideologies about weight loss persisted or declined during the pandemic. Most articles reflected a healthism lens, encouraging weight loss to achieve good health and to prevent COVID-19. However, some articles rejected weight loss or utilized a Health at Every Size perspective. This study has implications for research on body surveillance, neoliberalism, public health, and media reporting about weight loss and COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile applications for digital contact tracing have been developed and introduced around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed as a tool to support 'traditional' forms of contact-tracing carried out to monitor contagion, these apps have triggered an intense debate with respect to their legal and ethical permissibility, social desirability and general feasibility. Based on a large-scale study including qualitative data from 349 interviews conducted in nine European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, German-speaking Switzerland, the United Kingdom), this paper shows that the binary framing often found in surveys and polls, which contrasts privacy concerns with the usefulness of these interventions for public health, does not capture the depth, breadth, and nuances of people's positions towards COVID-19 contact-tracing apps. The paper provides a detailed account of how people arrive at certain normative positions by analysing the argumentative patterns, tropes and (moral) repertoires underpinning people's perspectives on digital contact-tracing. Specifically, we identified a spectrum comprising five normative positions towards the use of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: opposition, scepticism of feasibility, pondered deliberation, resignation, and support. We describe these stances and analyse the diversity of assumptions and values that underlie the normative orientations of our interviewees. We conclude by arguing that policy attempts to develop and implement these and other digital responses to the pandemic should move beyond the reiteration of binary framings, and instead cater to the variety of values, concerns and expectations that citizens voice in discussions about these types of public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding people's concepts of illness and health is key to crafting policies and communications campaigns to address a particular medical concern. This paper gathers cultural knowledge on infectious disease causation, prevention, and treatment the Philippines that are particularly relevant for the COVID-19 pandemic, and analyzes their implications for public health. This paper draws from ethnographic work (e.g. participant observation, interviews, conversations, virtual ethnography) carried out individually by each of the two authors from February to September 2020. The data was analyzed in relation to the anthropological literature on local health knowledge in the Philippines. We find that notions of hawa (contagion) and resistensiya (immunity) inform people's views of illness causation as well as their preventive practices - including the use of face masks and 'vitamins' and other pharmaceuticals, as well as the ways in which they negotiate prescriptions of face mask use and physical distancing. These perceptions and practices go beyond biomedical knowledge and are continuously being shaped by people's everyday experiences and circulations of knowledge in traditional and social media. Our study reveals that people's novel practices reflect recurrent, familiar, and long-held concepts - such as the moral undertones of hawa and experimentation inherent in resistensiya. Policies and communications efforts should acknowledge and anticipate how these notions may serve as either barriers or facilitators to participatory care and improved health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes two datasets of virtual reference interactions via a library chat service at the University of Mississippi: one from the COVID-19 pandemic period 2020-2022, and another from the pre-pandemic period of 2017–2019. By comparing the chats' length, distribution across days, weeks, and months, as well as word frequency analysis, it concludes that the pre-pandemic and pandemic chats appear to be fundamentally similar aside from a 16% drop in chat usage between the period from 2017–19 to the period from 2020–22. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and practitioners recognise the importance of context when implementing healthcare interventions, but the influence of wider environment is rarely mapped. This paper identifies the country and policy-related factors potentially explaining the country differences in outcomes of an intervention focused on improving detection and management of heavy alcohol use in primary care in Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Qualitative data obtained through interviews, logbooks and document analysis are used to explain quantitative data on number of alcohol screenings and screening providers in each of the countries. Existing alcohol screening standards in Mexico, and policy prioritisation of primary care and consideration of alcohol as a public health issue in Colombia and Mexico positively contributed to the outcome, while the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact. In Peru, the context was unsupportive due to a combination of: political instability amongst regional health authorities; lack of focus on strengthening primary care due to the expansion of community mental health centres; alcohol considered as an addiction rather than a public health issue; and the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare. We found that wider environment-related factors interacted with the intervention implemented and can help explain country differences in outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper documents environmental health conditions and healthcare access challenges faced by internally displaced people (IDPs) from Borno State living in informal settlements in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study with 32 IDPs suggests a high vulnerability to COVID-19. Their accommodation often lacked basic sanitation including water and toilet facilities; overcrowding and high population density restricted ability to adhere to social distancing; and IDPs experienced serious consequences from lockdown, as the majority depended on daily wages, and did not receive food packages or other support from the State. Finally, there were obstacles to accessing healthcare. We highlight the importance of an integrated approach, consolidating the efforts of communities, non-governmental organisations, environmental and public health, and international organisations to address the health and well-being issues of IDPs in urban informal settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 threatens hard-won gains in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) through compromising the ability of services to meet needs. Youth are particularly threatened due to existing barriers to their access to services. CHIEDZA is a community-based integrated SRH intervention for youth being trialled in Zimbabwe. CHIEDZA closed in March 2020, in response to national lockdown, and reopened in May 2020, categorised as an essential service. We aimed to understand the impact of CHIEDZA's closure and its reopening, with adaptations to reduce COVID-19 transmission, on provider and youth experiences. Qualitative methods included interviews with service providers (n = 22) and youth (n = 26), and observations of CHIEDZA sites (n = 10) and intervention team meetings (n = 7). Analysis was iterative and inductive. The sudden closure of CHIEDZA impeded youth access to SRH services. The reopening of CHIEDZA was welcomed, but the necessary adaptations impacted the intervention and engagement with it. Adaptations restricted time with healthcare providers, heightening the tension between numbers of youths accessing the service and quality of service provision. The removal of social activities, which had particularly appealed to young men, impacted youth engagement and access to services, particularly for males. This paper demonstrates how a community-based youth-centred SRH intervention has been affected by and adapted to COVID-19. We demonstrate how critical ongoing service provision is, but how adaptations negatively impact service provision and youth engagement. The impact of adaptations additionally emphasises how time with non-judgemental providers, social activities, and integrated services are core components of youth-friendly services, not added extras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted businesses and compelled the workforce toward the adoption of technology-enabled work from home (WFH). The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand the employee experiences and effectiveness of technology-enabled WFH. In-depth structured interviews were conducted with 39 respondents from western India. Qualitative content analysis was conducted, and the sub-themes and themes were identified by the researchers out of the interviews' text. The employee experiences are presented through a proposed framework comprising positive and negative factors affecting WFH. The study presents various findings on WFH such as (a) A Framework comprising of personal factors, employee performance, and technology adoption, and (b) A pictorial representation of positive and negative factors affecting the WFH. The paper also identified various challenges, which can be addressed for the effective implementation of WFH. This study presents a realistic and holistic picture of the technology-enabled WFH in India, which is a newfangled concept in the context of the pandemic. Open research areas are identified, which are presented at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic, where the need-resource gap has necessitated decision makers in some contexts to ration access to life-saving interventions, has demonstrated the critical need for systematic and fair priority setting and resource allocation mechanisms. Disease outbreaks are becoming increasingly common and priority setting lessons from previous disease outbreaks could be better harnessed to inform decision making and planning for future disease outbreaks. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how priority setting and resource allocation could, ideally, be integrated into the WHO pandemic planning and preparedness framework and used to inform the COVID-19 pandemic recovery plans and plans for future outbreaks. Priority setting and resource allocation during disease outbreaks tend to evoke a process similar to the 'rule of rescue'. This results in inefficient and unfair resource allocation, negative effects on health and non-health programs and increased health inequities. Integrating priority setting and resource allocation activities throughout the four phases of the WHO emergency preparedness framework could ensure that priority setting during health emergencies is systematic, evidence informed and fair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need to understand the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemics on older people's lives. However, conducting qualitative research is challenging, because of the shortage of guidelines and methodological research on how to recruit and interview participants during biological disasters, such as pandemics. This paper documents the procedures we adopted to recruit and interview 40 older people living in a rural area of Northern Italy that was subject to the first full lockdown in Europe. Despite the challenges arising when qualitatively researching the old age population in pandemic times, our study has shown that it is feasible to recruit and interview older people remotely. Specifically, community engagement and tailoring video-interviews according to older people's needs and ICT skills are the key aspects to consider when designing these types of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new opportunities to tap into teachers' own reservoirs of experiences and knowledge to develop them as teacher leaders, while minimising the potential for conflict with their colleagues and reducing confusion about their responsibilities. In this article, we describe some key themes identified and lessons learned from teachers and SMTs with respect to their experiences about teacher leadership during the pandemic. Having employed deconstruction as qualitative methodology and transformative learning as theory, this single case study assisted us to take-apart education policy texts as well as teachers' and SMTs' narratives to propose innovative teacher leadership initiatives amid COVID-19. The findings revealed that teacher leaders can be regarded as influencers who empower others by being responsive, open to change and build relationships so that they can inspire others. This aligns with policy stipulations that teachers should continually upgrade their knowledge and adapt their skills to new circumstances. This paper recommends that practices of the self and technologies of power can be deemed significant transformative teacher leadership initiatives for teacher leaders during and beyond the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers around the globe have increasingly invested in digital health technologies to support the 'test, track and trace' approach of containing the spread of the novel coronavirus. These technologies include mobile 'contact tracing' applications (apps), which can trace individuals likely to have come into contact with those who have reported symptoms or tested positive for the virus and request that they self-isolate. This paper takes a critical public health perspective that advocates for 'genuine participation' in public health interventions and emphasises the need to take citizen's knowledge into account during public health decision-making. In doing so, it presents and discusses the findings of a UK interview study that explored public views on the possibility of using a COVID-19 contact-tracing app public health intervention at the time the United Kingdom (UK) Government announced their decision to develop such a technology. Findings illustrated interviewees' range and degree of understandings, misconceptions, and concerns about the possibility of using an app. In particular, concerns about privacy and surveillance predominated. Interviewees associated these concerns much more broadly than health by identifying with pre-existent British national narratives associated with individual liberty and autonomy. In extending and contributing to ongoing sociological research with public health, we argue that understanding and responding to these matters is vital, and that our findings demonstrate the need for a forward-looking, anticipatory strategy for public engagement as part of the responsible innovation of the COVID-19 contact-tracing app in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary universal challenge of COVID-19 pandemic put more restrictions to disabled people's social interaction. This paper reports qualitative findings from a short-term art therapy intervention for a person with West Syndrome to examine how art therapy can be used as a coping strategy with the psychological impact of confinement. The data were analysed using Cathy Malchiodi's theory of 'art in therapy' and Edith Kramer's theory of 'art as therapy'. Findings from this study show that the use of art therapy as a coping strategy during the confinement period has clear benefits as it promotes emotional well-being and helps to reduce the mobility limitations caused by disability. The article concludes that art therapy can be used as an alternative way to cope with disability. It aims to positively impact parents and caregivers through highlighting new spots of action. The article looks in detail at the real-life experiences of a disabled person during the period of home-confinement. Disabled people experience isolation from society and the home-confinement policies put more restrictions to their social interaction. Disabled people need to be involved in activities such as painting, drawing, colouring, singing and story-telling to better cope with confinement. This type of research is important because it can help caregivers improve the quality of personal assistance during the period of confinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the COVID-19 pandemic now affects the entire world, countries have had diverse responses. Some responded faster than others, with considerable variations in strategy. After securing border control, primary health care approaches (public health and primary care) attempt to mitigate spread through public education to reduce person-to-person contact (hygiene and physical distancing measures, lockdown procedures), triaging of cases by severity, COVID-19 testing, and contact-tracing. An international survey of primary care experts' perspectives about their country's national responseswas conducted April to early May 2020. This mixed method paper reports on whether they perceived that their country's decision-making and pandemic response was primarily driven by medical facts, economic models, or political ideals; initially intended to develop herd immunity or flatten the curve, and the level of decision-making authority (federal, state, regional). Correlations with country-level death rates and implications of political forces and processes in shaping a country's pandemic response are presented and discussed, informed by our data and by the literature. The intersection of political decision-making, public health/primary care policies and economic strategies is analysed to explore implications of COVID-19's impact on countries with different levels of social and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high rate of mortality and global panic for the past 6 months because of Covid-19 pandemic calls for concern. Among the precautionary measures from international health organizations and governments to her citizens are the total lock-down, self-isolation, physical distancing, and handwashing mechanisms. Thus, this study attempts to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of these mechanisms by residents and tourists in George Town Heritage City traditional shophouses and proffer possible ways to mitigate future pandemics, especially concerning interior design components of a typical traditional shophouse. To achieve this, a phenomenology type of qualitative research was adopted. Data were collected via observations of selected traditional shophouses in George Town Heritage City, face-to-face interviews conducted, and validated via secondary sources. Findings show that it is difficult to practice some of the precautionary measures as recommended by appropriate authorities in majority of the George Town Heritage City traditional shophouses because of renovation and modernization to the original design. As part of the practical implications, this study is advocating for the modification of future design and construction to mitigate the spread of the contagious pandemic in shophouses. Also, this paper intends to stir-up key stakeholders and open new areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studies have explored how health sector corruption, weak healthcare system, large-scale immune compromised population, misinformation and prevalence of highly congested slums contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, they have glossed over the impact of political distrust on the spread of the virus. This study explores the impact of political distrust on the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The study utilised qualitative dominant mixed methods approach comprising telephone interviews and a survey of 120 educated Nigerians purposively selected from four COVID-19 most affected states including Lagos, Oyo, Kano and Rivers as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The study also relied on secondary data on the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria sourced from Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control from 27 February to 31st August 2020. The study found that political corruption motivates large-scale political distrust. This undermines public compliance to government protocols, limits the outcomes of government responses to COVID-19 and facilitates the spread of the virus in Nigeria. The paper concludes that improving government accountability in the public sector management is relevant for building public trust, promoting citizens' compliance to COVID-19 safety measure and mitigating the spread of the pandemic in Nigeria and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a series of earlier papers in Rural Theology, drawing on qualitative research, Anne Lawson has advanced and documented the fragile rural church thesis. The present study draws on data from 745 full-time parochial clergy serving in the Church of England who responded to the Coronavirus, Church & You Survey to test two objections to Lawson's thesis. The first objection is that the qualitative research has not demonstrated the extent of the fragile church thesis among rural clergy. The new data show that one in three rural clergy endorse the thesis. The second objection is that the qualitative research has not demonstrated that the thesis is specific to rural ministry. The new data show that, although the fragile church thesis is not limited to rural ministry, it is more in evidence within rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal settlements remain a public health problem as they lack basic infrastructure. Furthermore, it is challenging to enforce public health regulations and protocols to prevent the spread of infection during a pandemic. This paper was set out to explore the impact of lockdown during COVID-19 among people living in informal settlements. An exploratory qualitative design was utilised. Purposive sampling was used to select research participants. In-depth one-to-one interviews were held involving 30 research participants through a WhatsApp online telephone platform. A thematic approach underpinned by the four stages of data analysis in interpretive phenomenological analysis was utilised to analyse the data. The study found that during the the research participants were affected by lack of space to practice social distancing, over-burdened infrastructure, lack of savings, loss of income and shortage of food, hunger and diseases, anxiety and depression and poor access to education. There is a need to prioritise the needs of informal settlers and endeavour to establish permanent homes. Health promotion and communication initiatives and pandemic awareness programmes are needed to mitigate the impact of lockdown during a pandemic in informal settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Globally millions of people have been diagnosed with the virus whilst thousands have died. As the virus kept spreading health and social care frontline workers (HSCFW) were faced with difficulties when discharging their duties. This paper was set out to explore the challenges faced by different frontline workers in health and social care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research utilized an explorative qualitative approach. A total of forty (N = 40) in-depth one-to-one semi-structured interviews were undertaken with HSCFW who included support workers (n = 15), nurses (n = 15), and managers (N = 10). Health and social care workers were drawn from domiciliary care and care homes (with and without nursing services). All the interviews were done online. The data were thematically analyzed, and the emergent themes were supported by quotes from the interviews held with participants. Following data analysis the research study found that lack of pandemic preparedness, shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), anxiety and fear amongst professionals, challenges in enforcing social distancing, challenges in fulfilling social shielding responsibility, anxiety and fear amongst residents and service users, delay in testing, evolving PPE guidance and shortage of staff were challenges faced by frontline health and social care workers during COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the current study point to a need for adequate pandemic preparedness within the health and social care sector to protect both frontline workers and the individuals they look after. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]