Week 5 and 6 – explored growing disengagement with the coronavirus outbreak and reflected on some of the positive impacts of lockdown.​ Week 7 and 8 – explored the idea of a 15-minute city and aspirations for the future of London.

This data was generated as part of an 18 month ESRC funded project,as part of UKRI’s rapid response to COVID-19. The project examines how UK period poverty initiatives mitigated Covid-19 challenges in light of lockdown measures and closure of services, and how they continued to meet the needs of those experiencing period poverty across the UK. Applied social science research methodologies were utilised to collect and analyse data as this project, about the Covid-19 pandemic, was undertaken during an ongoing ‘real world’ pandemic. Data collection was divided into two phases. Phase 1 (October 2020 – February 2021) collected data from period poverty organisations in the UK using semi-structured interviews and an online survey to develop an in-depth understanding of how period poverty organisations were responding to and navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic. Having collected and analysed this data, phase 2 (June – September 2021) used an online survey to collect data from people experiencing period poverty in order to better understand their lived experiences during the pandemic. Our dataset comprises of phase 1 interview transcripts and online survey responses, and phase 2 online survey responses.

Period poverty refers not only to economic hardship with accessing period products, but also to a poverty of education, resources, rights and freedom from stigma for girls and menstruators (1). Since March 2020, and the introduction of lockdown/social distancing measures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 1 of every 10 girls (aged 14-21) cannot afford period products and instead must use makeshift products (toilet roll, socks/other fabric, newspaper/paper). Nearly a quarter (22%) of those who can afford products struggle to access them, mostly because they cannot find them in the shops, or because their usual source/s is low on products/closed (2).

Community /non-profit initiatives face new challenges related to Covid-19 lockdown measures as they strive to continue to support those experiencing period poverty. Challenges include accessing stocks of period products, distribution of products given lockdown restrictions, availability of staff/volunteer assistance and the emergence of 'new' vulnerable groups. There is an urgent need to capture how initiatives are adapting to challenges, to continue to support the needs of those experiencing period poverty during the pandemic. This data is crucial to informing current practice, shaping policy, developing strategies within the ongoing crisis and any future crises, and ensuring women and girls' voices are centralised.

The project builds upon existing limited knowledge by providing insight into how UK based initiatives and projects are mitigating challenges linked to Covid-19, by examining how they are continuing to meet the needs of those experiencing period poverty and identifying any gaps in provision.

1. Montgomery P., et al., 2016. Menstruation and the Cycle of Poverty. PLoS ONE 11(12): e0166122.
2. Plan International UK, 2020. The State of Girls' Rights in the UK: Early insights into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on girls. London: Plan International UK

Postnatal/postpartum depression (PND/PPD) had a pre-COVID-19 estimated prevalence ranging up to 23% in Europe, 33% in Australia, and 64% in America, and is detrimental to both mothers and their infants. Low social support is a key risk factor for developing PND. From an evolutionary perspective this is perhaps unsurprising, as humans evolved as cooperative childrearers, inherently reliant on social support to raise children. The coronavirus pandemic has created a situation in which support from social networks beyond the nuclear family is likely to be even more important to new mothers, as it poses risks and stresses for mothers to contend with; whilst at the same time, social distancing measures designed to limit transmission create unprecedented alterations to their access to such support. Using data from 162 mothers living in London with infants aged ≤6 months, we explore how communication with members of a mother’s social network related to her experience of postnatal depressive symptoms during the first “lockdown” in England. Levels of depressive symptoms, as assessed via the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, were high, with 47.5% of the participants meeting a ≥11 cut-off for PND. Quasi-Poisson regression modelling found that the number of network members seen in-person, and remote communication with a higher proportion of those not seen, was negatively associated with depressive symptoms; however, contact with a higher proportion of relatives was positively associated with symptoms, suggesting kin risked seeing mothers in need. Thematic qualitative analysis of open text responses found that mothers experienced a burden of constant mothering, inadequacy of virtual contact, and sadness and worries about lost social opportunities, while support from partners facilitated family bonding. While Western childrearing norms focus on intensive parenting, and fathers are key caregivers, our results highlight that it still “takes a village” to raise children in high-income populations and mothers are struggling in its absence.

Further information, including reports and publications, can be found on the UCL COVID-19 Social Study website.

On March 4, 2020, the first death as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) was recorded in the United Kingdom (UK). The number of deaths in the UK has increased significantly since then. As of January 13, 2023, the number of confirmed deaths due to coronavirus in the UK amounted to 202,157. On January 21, 2021, 1,370 deaths were recorded, which was the highest total in single day in the UK since the outbreak began.

Number of deaths among highest in Europe
The UK has had the highest number of deaths from coronavirus in western Europe. In terms of rate of coronavirus deaths, the UK has recorded 297.8 deaths per 100,000 population.

Cases in the UK The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK was 24,243,393 as of January 13, 2023. The South East has the highest number of first-episode confirmed cases of the virus in the UK with 3,123,050 cases, while London and the North West have 2,912,859 and 2,580,090 confirmed cases respectively. As of January 16, the UK has had 50 new cases per 100,000 in the last seven days.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

SMaRteN, in partnership with Vitae, conducated research into the impact of COVID-19 on the working lives of doctoral researchers and research staff. This is the Time 2 data set. Data was collected at the end of September and start of October 2020. Please see link at bottom of page for the first data set.SMaRteN www.smarten.org.ukThe UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded Student Mental Health Research Network (SMaRteN) is working to support and encourage better research into student mental health. SMaRteN is based at Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences at King’s College London.Vitae is a non-profit programme supporting the professional and career development of researchers. www.vitae.ac.uk @vitae_newsCovid-19 and the associated lock down has caused substantive disruption to the study and work of doctoral students and researchers in universities. The response to the pandemic has varied across universities and research funders.SMaRteN and Vitae aim to develop a national picture for how doctoral researchers and research staff have been affected by the pandemic.​The survey includes questions relating to the impact of COVID-19 on research work, mental wellbeing, social connection. We further address the impact of COVID-19 on changes to employment outside of academia, living arrangements and caring arrangements and the consequent effect of these changes on research work. The survey considers the support provided by supervisors / line managers and by universities.Data available here as either an SPSS or Excel download:SPSS file contains labelsExcel file contains labels and brief notes about codingRecoding data for CV19 impact - SPSS Syntax file describes steps taken to code dataCV19_impact_on_researchers - word document, export from Qualtrics of the survey.Please note, data has been removed from this data set to ensure participant anonymity.For further information, please contact Dr Nicola Byrom - nicola.byrom@kcl.ac.uk

Parameter tuning in the UK case.

Background: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has emphasised the critical need to investigate the mental well-being of healthcare professionals working during the pandemic. It has been highlighted that healthcare professionals display a higher prevalence of mental distress and research has largely focused on frontline professions. Social restrictions were enforced during the pandemic that caused rapid changes to the working environment (both clinically and remotely). The present study aims to examine the mental health of a variety of healthcare professionals, comparing overall mental wellbeing in both frontline and non-frontline professionals and the effect of the working environment on mental health outcomes.

Method: A cross-sectional mixed methods design, conducted through an online questionnaire. Demographic information was optional but participants were required to complete: (a) Patient Health Questionnaire, (b) Generalised Anxiety Disorder, (c) Perceived Stress Scale, and (d) Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. The questionnaire included one open-ended question regarding challenges experienced working during the pandemic.

Procedure:
Upon ethical approval the online questionnaire was advertised for six weeks from 1st May 2021 to 12th June 2021 to maximise the total number of respondents able to partake. The survey was hosted on the survey platform “Online Surveys”. It was not possible to determine a response rate because identifying how many people had received the link was unattainable information. The advert for the study was placed on social media platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) and shared through emails.

Participants were recruited through the researchers’ existing professional networks and they shared the advertisement and link to questionnaire with colleagues. The information page explained the purpose of the study, eligibility criteria, procedure, costs and benefits of partaking and data storage. Participants were made aware on the information page that completing and submitting the questionnaire indicated their informed consent. It was not possible to submit complete questionnaires unless blank responses were optional demographic data. Participants were informed that completed questionnaires could not be withdrawn due to anonymity.

The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographic data, mental health information and the four psychometric tools, PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSS-10 and CBI. Due to the sensitive nature of this research, only the psychometric measures required an answer for each question, thus all demographic information was optional to encourage participant contentment. Once participants had completed the questionnaire and submitted, they were automatically taken to a debrief page. This revealed the hypothesis of the questionnaire and rationalised why it was necessary to conceal this prior to completion. Participants were signposted to mental health charities and a self-referral form for psychological support. Participants could contact the researcher via email to express an interest in the results. It was explained that findings would be analysed using descriptive statistics to investigate any correlations or patterns in the responses. Data collected was stored electronically, on a password protected laptop. It will be kept for three years and then destroyed.

Instruments: PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSS-10 and CBI.

Other questions included:

Thank you for considering taking part in the questionnaire! Please remember by completing and submitting the questionnaire you are giving your informed consent to participate in this study.

Demographic:

Gender: please select one of the following:

Male Female Non-binary Prefer not to answer

Age: what is your age?

Open question: Prefer not to answer

What is your current region in the UK?

South West, East of England, South East, East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, North West, West Midlands, North East, London, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland Prefer not to answer

Ethnicity: please select one of the following:

White English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British Irish Gypsy or Irish Traveller Any other White background Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian Any other Mixed or Multiple ethnic background Asian or Asian British Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Any other Asian background Black, African, Caribbean or Black British African Caribbean Any other Black, African or Caribbean background Other ethnic group Arab Option for other please specify Prefer not to answer

Employment/environment:

What was your employment status in 2020 prior to COVID-19 pandemic?

Please select the option that best applies. Employed Self-employed Unpaid work (homemaker/carer) Out of work and looking for work Out of work but not currently looking for work Student Volunteer Retired Unable to work Prefer not to answer Option for other please specify

What is your current employment status?

Please tick the option that best applies. Employed Self-employed Unpaid work (homemaker/carer) Out of work and looking for work Out of work but not currently looking for work Student Volunteer Retired Unable to work Prefer not to answer Option for other please specify

What is your healthcare profession/helping profession?

Please state your job title. Open question

How often did you work from home before the COVID-19 pandemic?

Not at all, rarely, some, most, everyday Option for N/A

How often did you work from home during the first UK national lockdown for COVID-19?

Not at all, rarely, some, most, everyday Option for N/A

How often did you work from home during the second UK national lockdown during COVID-19?

Not at all, rarely, some, most, everyday Option for N/A

How often have you worked from home during the third UK national lockdown during COVID-19?

Not at all, rarely, some, most, everyday Option for N/A

How often are you currently working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Not at all, rarely, some, most, everyday Option for N/A

Mental health:

How would you describe your mental health leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, Poor

How would you describe your mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, Poor

What have been the main challenges working as a healthcare professional/helping profession during COVID-19 pandemic? Open question

Data analysis: Firstly, any missing data was checked by the researcher and noted in the results section. The data was then analysed using a statistical software package called Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 28 (SPSS-28). Descriptive statistics were collected to organise and summarise the data, and a correlation coefficient describes the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. Inferential statistics were used to determine whether the effects were statistically significant. Responses to the open-ended question were coded and examined for key themes and patterns utilising the Braun and Clarke (2006) thematic analysis approach.

Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the Health Science, Engineering and Technology Ethical Committee with Delegated Authority at the University of Hertfordshire.

The potential benefits and risks of partaking in the research were contemplated and presented on the information page to promote informed consent. Precautions to prevent harm to participants included eligibility criteria, excluding those under eighteen years older or experiencing mental health distress. As the questionnaire was based around employment and the working environment, another exclusion involved experiencing a recent job change which caused upset.

An anonymous questionnaire and optional input of demographic data fostered the participants’ right to autonomy, privacy and respect. Specific employment and organisation or company information were not collected to protect confidentiality. Although participants were initially deceived regarding the hypotheses, they were provided with accurate information about the purpose of the study. Deceit was appropriate to collect unbiased information and participants were subsequently informed of the hypotheses on the debrief page.

Over the past pandemic year, a significant number of consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) have reported changes in their online shopping behavior. Specifically, in March 2020, about 40 percent of UK shoppers said they had been shopping more online, compared to before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. By February 2021, however, this percentage had grown to approximately 75 percent. By the same token, offline shopping has decreased over the analyzed period.

An estimated 8,543 retail stores in the United Kingdom closed throughout 2024. This was a slowdown increase from 2024, during which 10,494 stores closed. Retail in the UK Despite almost consistent annual growth, the popularity of high-street shopping is in decline. While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the growth of online shopping, high-street footfall was in decline before the virus became part of the social lexicon. Brick and mortar shops in the UK struggle to compete with both price-cutting establishments and the world of online retail. According to the source, physical shops lost 12.6 percent of their market between 2006 and 2019. Retailers are looking to maintain their profitability through job cutting, and the closure of many smaller outlets. COVID-19 and e-commerce Online retail has seen astronomical growth in recent years and was given a helping hand by consumers stuck at home during pandemic lockdowns. Online retail sales skyrocketed in 2020 and 2021, a trend expected to continue into 2022 given that internet sales now account for around a quarter of all retail sales in Great Britain. Additionally, the new home-working reality of everyday life now means that workers are spending less time in retail areas near their workplace where they would normally spend lunch times or pick up bits and pieces traveling to and from the office five days a week.

The number of print books sold in the United Kingdom amounted to 209.1 million in 2022, down from 212 in the previous year. The 2021 figure marked the highest on record since 2012, whereas the number recorded in 2020 was the first time since 2012 that book sales in the UK surpassed 200 million, with 202 million books sold nationwide that year. This growth was attributed mostly to the coronavirus outbreak, which saw many consumers increase their media consumption during various local and national lockdowns. This growth continued in 2021, with sales that year up by five percent from 2020.

Book consumption and COVID-19

In March 2020 when countries across the world implemented measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus, consumers upped their in-home media usage to keep themselves occupied during lockdown. Close to 20 percent of UK internet users who participated in a survey in March 2020 reported reading more books or listening to more audiobooks at home during that time, and later waves of the survey held in May saw that figure climb above 30 percent.

By the summer of 2020, despite the gradual reopening of society as infection rates declined, a survey held in July showed that consumers expected in-home media consumption changes even after the pandemic came to an end. Book consumption, both physical and digital, ranked among the top ten media formats UK consumers planned to spend more time with in the future.

Digital book market Digital books are growing more and more popular in the United Kingdom, with e-book download frequency having increased in the last few years along with general e-book access. Audiobooks are also carving a path for themselves in the market, and consumer audiobook download sales revenue was close to one billion GBP in 2019. In the same year, book publishing houses reported 710 million British pounds in revenue generated through digital books sales, up from 126 million a decade earlier.