Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Compliance with UK Social Distancing Guidelines during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Interview Study

When followed, there is evidence that social distancing measures play a major role in reducing the transmission of viruses such as COVID-19. However, not all individuals follow the guidance. We explored barriers and facilitators to compliance with UK social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic through semi-structured interviews with 116 adults. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and themes mapped to the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Model of Behaviour (COM-B). Barriers to compliance included inconsistent rules, caring responsibilities, fatigue, unintended consequences of control measures, and the need for emotional support. Facilitators were informational support and social responsibility. Six themes were both a barrier and a facilitator: lived environment, beliefs about consequences of non-compliance, influence of others, practical support, and trust in government. Reflective motivation, psychological capability, and social opportunity were important drivers for compliance. Measures that enable social support alongside strategies to maintain motivation to comply, provide clear guidance and optimise social cohesion should be promoted. Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy.

How did UK social distancing restrictions affect the lives of women experiencing intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative exploration of survivor views.

BACKGROUND: Increased numbers of domestic abuse cases were reported at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people experiencing abuse faced barriers to seeking support with service closures affecting the sector. Available evidence suggests women are overrepresented in the reported cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) and we aimed to learn more about how their lives were impacted by social distancing restrictions. METHODS: We conducted an online qualitative interview study, using reflexive thematic analysis. Interviews were conducted between April 2021 and March 2022. 18 women in the UK with past experiences of IPV provided informed consent and participated in this study. RESULTS: During the analysis, we identified five themes relating to the impact of lockdown restrictions on participants' lives, including: (1) Lockdown meant being confined to a place where abuse was escalating, (2) Barriers to accessing support, including "cancelled" services and missed opportunities to intervene during interactions in lockdown with frontline workers. (3) Increased feelings of fear, isolation, and loss of control, particularly during the early stages of the pandemic from the combination of abuse and pandemic-related changes to daily life. (4) Some forms of support were more accessible during the pandemic, such as provision of online psychological support and social groups. Participants also accessed new forms of support for the first time during the pandemic, in some cases sparked by posts and content on social media about abuse awareness. (5) For some, psychosocial wellbeing transformed during the pandemic, with several participants using the word "freedom" when reflecting on their experience of simultaneously escaping abuse and living through the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we explored the views of female survivors of IPV in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results highlight the importance of combined public awareness campaigns and community intervention points for victims to safely seek help during social distancing restrictions. Having the time and space to reflect on healing after escaping abuse was described by women in our study as a benefit from their lives in lockdown, which is a factor that could be incorporated into future initiatives developed to support people subjected to violence and abuse.

"We are all in this together": Remote teaching and learning self-efficacy during Covid-19

This study uses a sequential explanatory mixed method case study approach to explore feelings of self-efficacy about learning and teaching during the shift to emergency remote instruction among faculty and students at Chestnut University (pseudonym), a large, private, comprehensive research university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States during Spring 2020. New modalities for teaching and learning resulting from the shift to emergency remote instruction rendered many classroom-based experts online novices. This study found that, in general, most faculty and students at Chestnut University reported high levels of self-efficacy teaching and learning online. Factors such as age, gender, previous experience teaching and learning in virtual spaces, and having a dedicated workspace for online teaching and learning influenced feelings of self-efficacy. © 2022, IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Compliance with UK Social Distancing Guidelines During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Interview Study

When followed, there is evidence that social distancing measures play a major role in reducing the transmission of viruses such as COVID-19. However, not all individuals follow the guidance. We explored barriers and facilitators to compliance with UK social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic through semi-structured interviews with 116 adults. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and themes mapped to the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Model of Behaviour (COM-B). Barriers to compliance included inconsistent rules, caring responsibilities, fatigue, unintended consequences of control measures, and the need for emotional support. Facilitators were informational support and social responsibility. Six themes were both a barrier and a facilitator: lived environment, beliefs about consequences of non-compliance, influence of others, practical support, and trust in government. Reflective motivation, psychological capability, and social opportunity were important drivers for compliance. Measures that enable social support alongside strategies to maintain motivation to comply, provide clear guidance and optimise social cohesion should be promoted.

Parent-directed intervention versus controls whilst their child waits for diagnostic assessment: a systematic review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Waiting lists are an ongoing issue for publicly funded community and hospital-based health services. Parents and caregivers are instrumental supports in the health and well-being of young and school-aged children, yet little is known about the way they can be supported during waiting periods. Given mounting evidence about the value of early intervention in physical and mental health literature, and waits for some public health services extending past 12 months, it is both timely and warranted to explore interim interventions that may be applied in this period. METHODS: Intervention studies that have applied an educational programme, information, group-based support or individualised therapy to primary caregivers of children (heron referred to as parent-directed interventions), waiting for diagnostic assessment at any inpatient or outpatient health service and aged between 1 and 12 years of age, will be reviewed. These will include intervention studies of any type that have included more than 5 participants or participant groups and where a control or comparison group has been included. Abstract screening, full-text review, data extraction and risk of bias will be conducted by two reviewers. Relevant databases in health and education will be systematically searched using key words and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and grey literature will be explored. Databases will include PubMed, Ovid for MEDLINE and PsycINFO, EBSCO for the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Covidence© will be used to support abstract and full text screening, which will be completed by two main reviewers. Results will be tabulated, summarised and meta-analysed using a random-effects model, in any instance where concordant outcome measures have been applied. Results will be published and reported in line with PRISMA reporting guidelines. DISCUSSION: Given little is known about effective support for families when children are awaiting diagnostic assessment for any medical, developmental or behavioural condition, the authors will synthesise existing evidence about parent-directed interventions in this period. It is hoped that by understanding the existing evidence interventions that are proven to be effective will be adopted and intervention innovation can occur. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 2020 CRD42020159360.

CANADIAN AGRI-FOOD EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES IN A COVID-19 WORLD

Canada is the world's fifth largest agri-food exporter, exporting half of its production, for an annual export value of C$56 billion. The OECD forecasts increasing global demand for food products, providing opportunities for continued growth of Canada's export market. Canada's long, complex, internal supply chains stretch beyond its borders across the globe, terminating in a large array of countries with differing technical abilities, importing supply chains and business cultures. They operate in an internationally competitive environment that is subject to a wide variety of shocks -- agronomic, logistical and political. The shock delivered by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, was unprecedented in its swiftness and in the magnitude of its disruptive effects. It represented a major test of the resiliency of Canadian agri-food supply chains, in both provisioning the domestic market and servicing export customers. If the ultimate measure of resilient food supply chains is providing safe, reliable availability of food to the population, so that shortages and scarcity are avoided to the greatest degree possible, it is clear that Canadian agri-food supply chains have proven to be highly resilient to the shocks COVID-19 presents. At first, there were no published reports or peer-reviewed documents to support this -- it was too soon -- but the fact that shortages of specific food products were temporary and within a few weeks, product availability and selection in Canadian grocery stores returned to pre-COVID-19 levels provides ample evidence. Food security in Canada was maintained. While the pandemic has not yet run its course, in a few months Canadian agrifood supply chains returned to the high levels of efficiency they possessed prior to COVID-19, as evidenced by the lack of shortages at grocery stores, and were ready to take advantage of any export opportunities that may present themselves as those markets and our competitors deal with COVID-19. Agri-food supply chains cannot adjust to shocks instantaneously. The food arriving today is the result of decisions taken months or even years ago. It is a flow that cannot be increased, slowed or diverted easily. Adjustments to shocks take time and may have widespread consequences. COVID-19 brought shocks to both the domestic agri-food market, and the international export market for Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of School of Public Policy Publications is the property of University of Calgary, School of Public Policy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)