Academic Articles

• Deaths of people with intellectual disabilities: Analysis of deaths in England from COVID-19 and other causes
  Journal of Applued Research in Intellectual Disabilities
  By Pauline Heslop, Professor of Intellectual Disabilities Studies, et al. 

• COVID-19: ensuring equality of access to testing for ethnic minorities
  Research synthesis editorial published in the British Medical Journal, 29th May 2020
  By Dr Catherine Dodds, senior lecturer in public policy and Dr Ibidun Fakoya, research fellow, King's College London.

Current Research

• A longitudinal survey of the mental health of children in State Care in England through the COVID-19 pandemic, led by Dinithi Wijedasa
  Funded by ESRC - project info
  The impact of the current Covid-19 pandemic on the vulnerable group of children growing up in State Care is unknown. This research, which maps on to the UKRI Covid-19 priority of establishing 'social and psychological impact upon vulnerable groups', aims to establish new information on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health of children in State Care through a prospective, longitudinal survey. 

• Do Meals on Wheels deliver more than just meals? Exploring the experiences of community service providers delivering meals to self-isolating adults during COVID-19, led by Angeliki Papadaki.
  

  Funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research 
  Emerging evidence suggests that Meals on Wheels provide benefits beyond nutrition, including the provision of welfare checks and decreased rates of depression and loneliness. This study will explore the experiences of customer service advisers, and drivers who deliver the meals to older adults, with regards to the staff-client interactions, the services offered to clients and to what extent these extend beyond meal delivery, the perceived benefits of the service to both staff and clients, and the perceived impact of the service on staff’s and clients’ wider sense of wellbeing. The focus, in particular, will be on how these interactions and perceptions changed during the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown. 

• The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in England, led by Dr Emma Williamson.
  Funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
  To ascertain the impact of the Covid19 pandemic and its policy strategies of self- isolation and social distancing on victims-survivors (v-s) of domestic violence and abuse (dva), and services designed to support those v-s (Refuges and outreach support services across England).

• Virtual compassionate communities for extraordinary circumstances, led by Professor Karen West.
  Funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
  COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges for older people and people with dementia. The proposed research builds on the infrastructure of a pilot project of volunteer bereavement support in housing with care environments to:
  (1) mobilise a ‘compassionate community’ (Kellehear, 2013; Rumbold and Aoun, 2014) response to the COVID-19 crisis;
  (2) better understand the role of a compassionate community under ‘extraordinary’ circumstances where grieving is different to ‘normal’ social and cultural practices;
  (3) gain learning that will be useful for other communities (e.g. prisons, the military, university accommodation);
  (4) gain learning that will be useful for both retirement accommodation and for organisations working with older people more generally.

• Staying active in isolation? The impact of COVID on physical activity in the low income semi-rural populations, led by Dr Laura Johnson.
  Funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
  The aim is to build on existing funded collaboration with the South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO) cohort in Malaysia. Co-applicants in the School include Dr Ruth Salway, Dr Miranda Armstrong, Dr Charlie Foster and Professor Tin Tin Su, Monash University Malaysia. The project will collect COVID-19 data on symptoms, preventative actions and physical activity to look at the impact of movement control order (Malaysian version of lockdown) on occupational, transport and leisure time physical activity. To inform the importance of incorporating allowances for physical activity if MCO is reinstated to control a second wave of the virus.

• Linking children’s social care data with mental health data, led by Dinithi Wijedasa - Research extension of existing study to address Covid-19.
  Funded by the Nuffield Foundation
  A COVID-19 related objective has been added to this study. Apart from the stated objectives, it now plans to establish prevalence of mental health concerns and characteristics of mental health services received by children in State care in England before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  
• UK-based online survey 'Face mask use and social distancing in the UK during COVID-19', Dr Bai Li is collaborating with researchers at the University of Oxford as part of this multi-nation research project.