Researching children and disasters: What's different in pandemic times?

The repercussions of the global COVID-19 pandemic are far-reaching and extend to the ways in which scholars conduct disaster research. Research on children and disasters is no exception. Focusing on methodologies, this paper explores the methodological constraints and innovations of studying children during the current crisis, and the implications for post-pandemic research on children and disasters. We begin by reviewing research methodologies to study children and disasters, drawing upon scholarly and grey literature as well as on our own research project on the pandemic experiences of children, adolescents, and older adults. We then discuss how these research approaches, tools, and spaces have changed during the pandemic. Methodological adaptation and innovation are necessary because traditional data collection methods are largely not feasible during the current pandemic;for example, many researchers cannot travel to the disaster site, hold in-person focus groups, interview children and their families face-to-face, or conduct extensive participant observation in places people would usually frequent. We pay particular attention to research ethics issues, including the challenges of navigating the research design process when children are involved. We contend that the massive adoption of online methods during the COVID-19 pandemic is laying the foundation for a seventh wave of research on children and disasters characterized by the integration of in-person and virtual worlds, and of in-person and virtual research methods. Rather than initiating this transition to a hybrid or blended model, the pandemic is accelerating the transition, and compelling more of the research community to engage than might have otherwise. The "bricolage" of methods originating in both in-person and virtual fields, adapted in various ways for both in-person and virtual fields, is better attuned to the spaces where children live their lives, and the ways in which they live their lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Using telepresence robots as a tool to engage patient and family partners in dementia research during COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative participatory study.

BACKGROUND: Long-term care (LTC) settings have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; it is important to address unmet needs and explore practical strategies for supporting LTC residents and staff. The involvement of patient partners and family community members in research planning, implementation and evaluation is the basis of Patient and Public Involvement approach and has been challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, as visitation restrictions have created barriers to conducting research in healthcare settings. Innovative methods and tools are needed for conducting participatory research. This study investigated the use of telepresence as innovative tools for participatory research based on three projects conducted with patient and family partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The data source includes (a) team reflective discussions, (b) weekly meeting notes, (c) field notes, and (d) interviews with ten researchers. We applied purposive sampling to select ten researchers who used a telepresence robot to conduct research in British Columbia, Canada. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted via Zoom virtual meetings. Patient and family partners contributed to team analysis to identify themes. RESULTS: Analysis of the data produced five themes: (1) Research Enabler, (2) User-Friendly Technology, (3) Increased Engagement, (4) Lack of Infrastructure and Resources, and (5) Training and Technical Obstacles. Based on the results, we propose "ROBOT"-an acronym for five actionable recommendations to support the use of telepresence robots for research. The ROBOT recommendations represent: Realign to adapt, Organize with champions, Blend strategies, Offer timely technical assistance, and Tailor training to individual needs. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers practical insights into the use of telepresence robots as a safe and innovative tool for conducting remote research with people with dementia, even in times of restricted access, as with COVID-19. Future research should apply more creativity and flexibility in adopting technology to expand possibilities for involving people with dementia in research.

It is important to address unmet needs and explore practical strategies for supporting long-term care (LTC) residents and staff who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Involving patient partners and family community members in research planning, implementation, and evaluation is crucial for understanding the challenges faced by LTC residents. However, the restrictions on visitation and staff shortages during the pandemic have made this difficult. This study investigated the use of telepresence robots as innovative tools for participatory research. We interviewed ten researchers who used telepresence robots to conduct remote research in British Columbia, Canada. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted via Zoom meetings and analyzed to find common themes. Based on the analysis of the interviews and our reflection, five themes were found: (1) Research Enabler, (2) User-Friendly Technology, (3) Increased Engagement, (4) Lack of Infrastructure and Resources, and (5) Training and Technical Obstacles. Based on these findings, we propose "ROBOT"­an acronym for actionable recommendations to support the use of telepresence robots for research. These recommendations include: Realign to adapt, Organize with champions, Blend strategies, Offer timely technical assistance, and Tailor training to individual needs. This study provides insights into the use of telepresence robots as safe and innovative tools for conducting research with patient and family partners remotely, even in times of restricted access, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuing Nursing Research During a Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic disrupted traditional research practices with the cessation of face-to-face contact with study participants. Researchers needed to respond with alternative methods to continue nurse-led clinical research. A rapid pivot to remote processes for recruitment, enrollment, data collection, and participant incentives can enable research to continue despite restrictions on in-person activities. Technology offers innovative methods in meeting current research needs but is not without challenges and continued need for ethics evaluation.

Critical Reflections on Conducting Qualitative Health Research During COVID-19: The Lived Experiences of a Cohort of Postgraduate Students in a South African University.

COVID-19 ushered in public health guidelines restricting face-to-face contact and movement, and encouraging social distancing, all of which had implications for conducting field-based research during the pandemic. For qualitative researchers, this meant adapting conventional face-to-face methods and resorting to virtual variations of the same in adherence to stipulated COVID-19 health protocols. Virtual qualitative research introduced new concerns and logistical challenges. This paper presents critical reflections on experiences of conducting qualitative research during the pandemic, from the perspectives of a cohort of postgraduate fellows. A critical reflection framework was utilised to explore fellows experiences and meanings ascribed to their experiences. The research findings illustrate three overarching processes which, in turn, shaped ways of thinking, doing and being. First, explicating tacit assumptions about their anticipated research journeys and interrogating these. Second, shifts in power differentials demonstrated by role reversal between researchers and participants, and between fellows and supervisors as they re-negotiated their positionalities in virtual research spaces. Third, context specific sense-making, in which - narrative accounts support the notion of knowledge as a social construct. Our findings have important implications for qualitative research practice. Our study documents methodological nuances and social implications of conducting qualitative research during COVID-19 and in a-South African context. In addition, our study exemplifies the use of critical reflection in qualitative research practice in the specific context of postgraduate academic research. Further, our study illustrates how the use of technology shapes qualitative research protocol development, data collection and analysis phases.

Researching children and disasters: What’s different in pandemic times?

The repercussions of the global COVID-19 pandemic are far-reaching and extend to the ways in which scholars conduct disaster research. Research on children and disasters is no exception. Focusing on methodologies, this paper explores the methodological constraints and innovations of studying children during the current crisis, and the implications for post-pandemic research on children and disasters. We begin by reviewing research methodologies to study children and disasters, drawing upon scholarly and grey literature as well as on our own research project on the pandemic experiences of children, adolescents, and older adults. We then discuss how these research approaches, tools, and spaces have changed during the pandemic. Methodological adaptation and innovation are necessary because traditional data collection methods are largely not feasible during the current pandemic;for example, many researchers cannot travel to the disaster site, hold in-person focus groups, interview children and their families face-to-face, or conduct extensive participant observation in places people would usually frequent. We pay particular attention to research ethics issues, including the challenges of navigating the research design process when children are involved. We contend that the massive adoption of online methods during the COVID-19 pandemic is laying the foundation for a seventh wave of research on children and disasters characterized by the integration of in-person and virtual worlds, and of in-person and virtual research methods. Rather than initiating this transition to a hybrid or blended model, the pandemic is accelerating the transition, and compelling more of the research community to engage than might have otherwise. The “bricolage” of methods originating in both in-person and virtual fields, adapted in various ways for both in-person and virtual fields, is better attuned to the spaces where children live their lives, and the ways in which they live their lives. © The Author(s) 2022. (Copyright notice)

The Use of Virtual Research Experiences for Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program High School Participants During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the nation, with rates greatest in the Appalachian region due to poor health behaviors and inequities in social determinants of health. The Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center engages 20 Appalachian-native high school students annually in cancer education, research, and outreach activities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, programming was disrupted, and alternative activities were implemented, including virtual research experiences. Methods: The program's goals were to improve students' biology and cancer content knowledge and research skills and help students make career decisions. Virtual laboratories were used to help accomplish these goals. This study aimed to evaluate the use of virtual laboratories embedded in the program and determine if such experiences helped reach the program's goals. A survey was used to measure students' perceptions of the virtual labs. Results: Results indicated that students perceived they gained content knowledge, obtained research skills, and considered entering science and cancer-related careers. Conclusion: The decision to incorporate virtual laboratories into the ACTION programming during the COVID-19 pandemic was a sound instructional choice. Evidence provided herein gives researchers and program developers information necessary to consider using virtual labs in their programs.

A conceptual framework for clinical and translational virtual community engagement research.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a trend for clinical and translational community-engaged research in adapting to an increasingly virtual landscape. This requires a framework for engagement distinct from in-person research and program activities. We reflect on four case studies of community engagement activities that inform a conceptual framework to better integrate the virtual format into community-engaged research reflecting key tenets of health equity and antiracist praxis. Methods: Four projects were selected by community-engaged research stakeholders for an in-depth review based on how much the virtual transition impacted activities such as planning, recruitment, and data collection for each project. Transitions to virtual engagement were assessed across ten areas in which community engagement has been demonstrated to make a positive impact. Results: Our analysis suggests a conceptual evaluation framework in which the ten community engagement areas cluster into four interrelated domains: (1) development, design, and delivery; (2) partnership and trust building; (3) implementation and change; and (4) ethics and equity. Conclusions: The domains in this conceptual framework describe critical elements of community engaged research and programs consistent with recommendations for health equity informed meaningful community engagement from the National Academy of Medicine. The conceptual framework and case studies can be used for evaluation and to develop guidelines for clinical and translational researchers utilizing the virtual format in community-engaged research.

Running a Virtual Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Site in Computing Systems

This paper summarizes our experiences in running the REU site in a virtual environment at the University of Louisville. This is our first year to run the REU site. While our original plan when we proposed this project was to have a traditional in-person program, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the concerns about safety for both faculty mentors and students involved made us decide to run it virtually. While we had to cancel some in-person activities such as face-to-face meetings, tours, and social events, we also added virtual events such as private and group MS Team meeting, Slack chat rooms (channels), and online movie nights and discussions. Nine out of the ten research projects were conducted entirely virtually. For one project that involves hardware component, we managed to mail a hardware kit to the student so that she could still work on her project remotely. Student evaluations indicate that this virtual REU site program, though in its first year, was quite successful and satisfactory. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Virtual REU Program: Engineering Education Research

This paper describes a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program conducted through virtual working environment. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, REU 2021 activities were conducted online through Canvas and Zoom communication platforms. The major aim of this program is to provide undergraduate students with experiences in engineering education research (i.e., education research in the context of engineering). This paper provides an overview of the program, and briefly describes the virtual working environment, and students' research experiences during the 10-week program. A total of 11 undergraduate students, seven graduate mentors, and seven faculty mentors have actively participated in the program. The program is conducted in two phases: Phases 1 (i.e., Weeks 1-2) and 2 (i.e., Weeks 3-10). Phase 1 consists of preparatory and foundational work that is delivered to participants and will allow them to begin Phase 2 with some educational research foundation already established. The results of the project evaluation show that the program has made a positive impact on increasing education research skills and communication skills of the participating REU students. The participating REU students reported that the research projects they worked on increased their motivation and confidence for continuing to engage in engineering education research. Four participants (i.e., 36.4% of the total participants) suggested that, if available, they would prefer face-to-face over a virtual REU program. Another four participants (i.e., 36.4%) felt that both face-to-face and virtual would offer the same quality of research experiences, and 3 participants (i.e., 27.2% of the total participants) voiced their preference of virtual over face-to-face REU program. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

From Challenge to Opportunity: Virtual Qualitative Research During COVID-19 and Beyond.

COVID-19 has required researchers to adapt methodologies for remote data collection. While virtual interviewing has traditionally received limited attention in the qualitative literature, recent adaptations to the pandemic have prompted increased discussion and adoption. Yet, current discussion has focussed on practical and ethical concerns and retained a tone of compromise, of coping in a crisis. This paper extends the nascent conversations begun prior to the pandemic to consider the wider methodological implications of video-call interviews. Beyond the short-term, practical challenges of the pandemic, these adaptations demonstrate scope for longer-term, beneficial digitalisation of both traditional and emergent interview methods. Updating traditional interview methods digitally has demonstrated how conversion to video interviewing proves beneficial in its own right. Virtual focus-group-based research during COVID-19, for example, accessed marginalised populations and elicited notable rapport and rich data, uniting people in synchronous conversation across many environments. Moreover, emergent interview methods such as the Grid Elaboration Method (a specialised free-associative method) demonstrated further digitalised enhancements, including effective online recruitment with flexible scheduling, virtual interactions with significant rapport, and valuable recording and transcription functions. This paper looks beyond the pandemic to future research contexts where such forms of virtual interviewing may confer unique advantages: supporting researcher and participant populations with mobility challenges; enhancing international research where researcher presence or travel may be problematic. When opportunities for traditional face-to-face methods return, the opportunity for virtual innovation should not be overlooked.

Virtual Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Translation of research to practice is essential for competent practitioners but requires skills and experience in reading and understanding research. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) may be a means of developing research skills for all students in a course. For successful CUREs, faculty evaluate students' research skill development and decide on a project that appropriately promotes student learning. In this case, we chose an open-ended project. We then evaluated the experiences of music students (music therapy, music performance, and music digital media) as they participated in a virtual CURE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design with two surveys and open-ended responses of the whole group (n = 22) and a focus group with a volunteer subsample of students (n = 7) indicated important gains in understanding research articles, writing a scholarly paper, understanding the relevance of research to their coursework, and developing communication and teamwork skills. Student suggestions for improvement included clarification of the expectations and timelines, particularly in a virtual setting, and better distribution of effort during the semester. Overall, a virtual CURE may support student research skill development and help them become more effective research consumers.

Artificial Intelligence Efficiency during COVID-19 Pandemic

Artificial intelligence is attracting people's interest, especially during this period of the coronavirus. For this reason, heuristic teaching will benefit from the superior availability of virtual innovations, to use online education. Which makes it possible to visualize instruction in virtual situations that are unimaginable in physical classrooms, for example, access to virtual research facilities, visualization of machines, mechanical factories and scenarios. Already curative. The enormous conceivable results of open hypothetical developments will make it possible to envision breaking the boundaries of formal education. In this research, an overview of artificial intelligence and what is the necessity of artificial intelligence and its features. There are also some examples and applications, including the broad categories of AI and its features. In this paper, I explain the challenges that developers face and are their downsides to these systems. At the end of this paper, the use of AI will state and include the conclusion. © 2021 IEEE.

Virtual research stakeholder groups with isolated homebound elders and caregivers: Lessons learned relevant to research during pandemics

An estimated 7.3 million elders in the United States are home-limited. Not only are elders generally underrepresented in clinical trials and other research, homebound and seriously ill individuals are historically difficult to engage in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) due to functional limitations and digital literacy challenges. We successfully used videoconferencing technology to engage homebound elders and caregivers longitudinally as PCOR stakeholder advisors. Our experiences with remote engagement are relevant for conducting research with isolated or difficult-to-reach populations during and beyond the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Research on the Strategies of Promoting the Professional Ability of College Art Teachers by Network Research during the Epidemic Period

During the novel coronavirus pneumonia, teachers use WeChat, ding talk, and other new media to carry out network training, which can break through the obstacles of time and space, effectively carry out teaching seminars and enhance occupation ability. This paper summarizes the development process of network research, analyzes the current situation of a network teaching and research activities carried out by art teachers in Colleges and universities. The network training mode based on WeChat platform is constructed. This paper designs an ERT interactive mechanism based on the Ding Talk platform, including subject experts, subject researchers, and subject teachers. It explores the mode, process and effect of online research through multiple rounds of empirical research. During the epidemic period, the network research to promote the professional ability of art teachers in colleges and universities strategy: first, the use of ding talk to carry out virtual teaching and research activities, improve the information literacy and online teaching ability of art teachers;Two, we should use official account number and APP to conduct online learning to enhance the occupation morality and professional quality of art teachers. The practice has proved that during the epidemic period, the use of WeChat platform and Ding Talking platform to carry out network research activities has the advantages of low cost, high efficiency, and diversified information presentation, and has a good application prospect. © 2021 IEEE.

Engaging students in an ocean data analysis based Virtual REU

In the summer of 2020, many Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs around the country were forced to cancel their on-site programs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the midst of this crisis, the OOI Ocean Data Labs project at Rutgers University was asked to develop an alternative 'virtual REU, ' relying on our existing network of faculty and virtual community professional development experience. In the end, 15 faculty members were recruited to support 16 undergraduate students, as part of a combined program with Rutgers Research Internship in Ocean Sciences (RIOS). With only a month of planning, the Data Labs-RIOS team put together an 8-week research experience for students, including a 2-week professional development, and a 6-week research project, where students worked virtually with a faculty mentor, in keeping with typical REU summer programs. In this paper, we review the elements of the virtual program enacted in 2020, and how the various components were scaffolded to provide a coherent and positive research experience for students. The program produced a number of positive components worthy of consideration for future virtual REU or other internship programs. Virtual or hybrid programs might be a suitable alternative for nontraditional students or others who cannot participate in traditional programs, but would still benefit from the opportunity to engage in research. © 2021 MTS.

The Development of a Virtual Research Preparation and Professional Development Program

In response to Covid-19, the Penn State Physics Department and the Center for Nanoscale Science, a National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NSF-MRSEC), made a rapid pivot of our Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program from an in-person 10-week research experience to a virtual research preparation and professional development program which was designed to prepare science and engineering undergraduate and master's students for entrance into the workforce or their continuation in a graduate program. The overarching goal of this virtual experience was to develop and refine professional skills that are often not explicitly taught in science and engineering classes. The program had three distinct areas: (1) Career Preparation (Professional Development & Career Exploration), which provided students with tools to “build their brand” and exposed them to the wide range of career paths one can pursue with a science or engineering degree;(2) Scientific Research Skills, which comprised academic seminars, a scientific journal club, and hands-on educational workshops;and (3) Community Impact and Involvement, where students developed a scientific outreach product. Here we describe the structure and content of the program, the deliverables created, and lessons learned from this unique summer experience. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Ethical Considerations in Oncology and Palliative Care Research During COVID-19.

Background: Researchers and clinicians must collaborate to consider alternative approaches to conduct standard protocol activities and deliver interventions during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has required researchers at many institutions to modify traditional in-person research to virtually delivered activities and still adhere to healthcare ethical principles of beneficence, justice, and respect for persons. Our objective is to describe ethical considerations faced by nurse investigators who modified research conducted in pediatric oncology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Review of research case examples. Results Two research study case examples are presented, including remote-participant recruitment via Facebook advertising and a virtually delivered web-based legacy intervention in a pediatric oncology randomized clinical trial. Challenges to modifying in-person approaches to remote strategies are also discussed, with examples of advantages and disadvantages presented from a study testing a human-animal interaction intervention for children with cancer. Discussion Our case information may assist other investigators in planning virtually delivered behavioral strategies for populations that may prefer the convenience of remote participation in research studies because of multiple family responsibilities in the care of a family member, during the pandemic and after. As researchers understand more about subjects' preferences to receive protocol activities (i.e., virtual vs. in-person delivery), they may be able to reduce risks of being unable to collect data because eligible subjects declined or withdrew from a study due to multiple-home responsibilities during the care of a family member with a serious or life-limiting condition.

A report from the NIHR UK working group on remote trial delivery for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

BACKGROUND: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of clinical trial activity took place face to face within clinical or research units. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant shift towards trial delivery without in-person face-to-face contact or "Remote Trial Delivery". The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) assembled a Remote Trial Delivery Working Group to consider challenges and enablers to this major change in clinical trial delivery and to provide a toolkit for researchers to support the transition to remote delivery. METHODS: The NIHR Remote Trial Delivery Working Group evaluated five key domains of the trial delivery pathway: participant factors, recruitment, intervention delivery, outcome measurement and quality assurance. Independent surveys were disseminated to research professionals, and patients and carers, to ascertain benefits, challenges, pitfalls, enablers and examples of good practice in Remote Trial Delivery. A toolkit was constructed to support researchers, funders and governance structures in moving towards Remote Trial Delivery. The toolkit comprises a website encompassing the key principles of Remote Trial Delivery, and a repository of best practice examples and questions to guide research teams. RESULTS: The patient and carer survey received 47 respondents, 34 of whom were patients and 13 of whom were carers. The professional survey had 115 examples of remote trial delivery practice entered from across England. Key potential benefits included broader reach and inclusivity, the ability for standardisation and centralisation, and increased efficiency and patient/carer convenience. Challenges included the potential exclusion of participants lacking connectivity or digital skills, the lack of digitally skilled workforce and appropriate infrastructure, and validation requirements. Five key principles of Remote Trial Delivery were proposed: national research standards, inclusivity, validity, cost-effectiveness and evaluation of new methodologies. CONCLUSIONS: The rapid changes towards Remote Trial Delivery catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to sustained change in clinical trial delivery. The NIHR Remote Trial Delivery Working Group provide a toolkit for researchers recommending five key principles of Remote Trial Delivery and providing examples of enablers.

Recommendations for Virtual Qualitative Health Research During a Pandemic.

Qualitative health research has been uniquely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Various public health directives will likely remain in place until this pandemic is fully controlled, creating long-lasting impacts on the design and conduct of qualitative health research. Virtual qualitative research provides an alternative to traditional interviews or focus groups and can help researchers adhere to public health directives. In this commentary, we respond to methodological needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we explore unique elements of, and recommendations for, the design and conduct of obtrusive virtual qualitative research (online interviews, online focus groups, and email interviews) and demonstrate crucial ethical, recruitment, analytical, and interpretive considerations. Researchers are currently faced with an ethical imperative to advance virtual qualitative research methods and ensure that rigorous qualitative health research continues during this pandemic and beyond. Our discussions provide a starting point for researchers to explore the potential of virtual qualitative research.