Social learning about COVID-19 vulnerability and social distancing in high density populations: the case of UK urban dwelling Bangladeshis
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: SSPP School Office
Abstract
Early epidemiology indicates older members of Britain's Bangladeshi communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality. Bangladeshis are more likely to have comorbidities and live in poorer, overcrowded areas in the UK's urban centres where viral contagion is more likely. This cross-section of socioeconomic, geographical and health related factors underlines the need for clear messaging about social distancing in a complex and shifting risk scenario - messages that this vulnerable group, who speak an oral language (Sylheti), may not be able to access directly due to low literacy and English language proficiency.
This study will identify the practices adopted by Bangladeshis in a London borough in response to the pandemic, the attitudes and beliefs that underlie them and whether and how these have been influenced by messages about social distancing. Drawing on our earlier work, it will examine the role of social learning in how messages are accessed and interpreted and whether and how the health interactions of this older group are mediated by friends, family members and acquaintances. Remote interviews with older Bangladeshis and their social contacts who perform this mediating role will provide insights into how linguistically and culturally appropriate messaging can build on existing beliefs and practices to promote compliance, and on social mediation as a dissemination strategy. We will identify the role of choice of language (English or Sylheti), the differences between written and oral representations of COVID-19 risk, and the manifold ways in which linguistic choices give salience to aspects of a risk scenario.
This study will identify the practices adopted by Bangladeshis in a London borough in response to the pandemic, the attitudes and beliefs that underlie them and whether and how these have been influenced by messages about social distancing. Drawing on our earlier work, it will examine the role of social learning in how messages are accessed and interpreted and whether and how the health interactions of this older group are mediated by friends, family members and acquaintances. Remote interviews with older Bangladeshis and their social contacts who perform this mediating role will provide insights into how linguistically and culturally appropriate messaging can build on existing beliefs and practices to promote compliance, and on social mediation as a dissemination strategy. We will identify the role of choice of language (English or Sylheti), the differences between written and oral representations of COVID-19 risk, and the manifold ways in which linguistic choices give salience to aspects of a risk scenario.
| Description | Our study has provided important insights into how UK Bangladeshis have accessed, interpreted and assessed information about COVID-19 and social distancing. In close collaboration with community partners, we have generated rich, qualitative insights into the dynamics of trust as part of the information sharing practices of this cultural group and the role of local mediators in promoting compliance and vaccine uptake. These insights are based on a multi-layered analysis of 37 interviews with older members of the Bangladeshi communities in Tower Hamlets and people in their immediate and wider support network (their "social contacts"). These included a thematic analysis of beliefs and perceptions and reported practices relating to the pandemic, a metaphor analysis that identified underlying conceptualisations and a narrative analysis of the anecdotes and stories drawn upon by our participants to talk about their experiences of the pandemic. We report below on what each analysis revealed about the beliefs, experiences and information sharing practices of our participants and their relationship to the oral language (Sylheti) widely spoken in the community. Thematic analysis 1) There is strong evidence that social learning is fundamental to how UK Bangladeshis have engaged with messaging about COVID and social distancing. Social contacts reported fulfilling an information sharing role as the linguistic gatekeepers of advice. At the same time, a subset of older participants appeared to be entirely dependent on carers, family members or acquaintances for information about the changing risk scenario. Older participants and social contacts expressed similar assumptions and beliefs about COVID risk, vectors of transmission, and public health measures. When identifying the symptoms of the virus, many participants highlighted the similarities between symptoms and other illnesses like the flu. This was cited as a cause of confusion. There was also a juxtaposition between participants' adherent practice but lack of knowledge of specific, official terminology. For instance, many older participants did not know what 'shielding' was even though they practiced it. These findings, thus, also illustrate how COVID related information is oftentimes sub-optimally shared and/or understood. 2) The perception of risk to family, the community, and the wider public was a stronger driver of compliance than personal risk. There were fundamental differences in how a subgroup of older participants had interpreted information about COVID risk and its mitigation. Their tendency to frame knowledge and experience of COVID-19 through a narrative structure appeared to be linked to their dependency on Sylheti as an oral language for their interactions about health. 3) Sociocultural influences on compliance were both positive and negative, e.g. religious rituals relating to hygiene encouraged a predisposition for measures such as handwashing, while there was a clear tension between social distancing measures and the perceived pressure to maintain social bonds within a geographically concentrated and socially interconnected community. 4) Trust in the messenger was also a central factor for compliance, e.g. distrust was cited as a rationale for non compliance. Broadly speaking, the most trusted sources of information were a) local to the community and b) in possession of "insider" knowledge about risks posed by COVID, e.g. as a GP or in professions with on the job training about COVID mitigation. Amongst the younger social contacts, there was strong distrust of the current government , but greater trust in "government" as a metonym, as the "official story". In contrast to other participants, older male participants expressed high levels of trust in the current government, which appeared to be linked to high collective self-efficacy beliefs in Bangladeshis' capacity to be resilient to COVID: the government identified the solutions, but the community enacted them. 5) The data points to a subgroup of community elders who were highly vulnerable to misinformation. In our sample, these participants were predominantly female, with low levels of English language proficiency and literacy. They tended to avoid Bengali news about COVID as too overwhelming and negative, and portrayed a sense that they lacked agency in their own health outcomes alongside fatalistic attitudes, e.g. that COVID health outcomes will ultimately be decided by God. These participants were thus highly likely to accept advice from relatives without verification through other sources. The lack of trusted orally accessible sources in the wider community during the first lockdown and its aftermath meant they would also have been unable to do so. Metaphor analysis 6) While older and younger participants shared similar assumptions, beliefs and knowledge, their underlying conceptualisations of COVID risk were fundamentally different in ways that relate to the language they were expressed in - Sylheti (which is only spoken and not codified) and English (which is spoken, codified and written). We can summarise these differences as follows: 2) The notion of COVID risk as "up" or "down" that was common for the English data (e.g. as in "high risk", COVID as "going up") was not expressed in Sylheti. There are also no terms to communicate key concepts, e.g. the concept attached to a term like "droplets". Older participants expressed more visceral conceptualisations for transmission, e.g. the notion of breath as an object, which will give you the disease if you touch it. 7) The metaphor analysis also showed fundamental differences to how societal risk - an important driver of compliance - was conceptualised. Whereas younger participants conceptualised COVID risk as multi-layered (social bubbles, families, society, economy), elder conceptualisations were more localised, either as personal risk contained within the risk to community (older men), or on a personal and metaphysical level, with Allah as the metaphorical cure and protector of humankind (older women). 8) The metaphor analysis extends our understanding of trust dynamics in an oral cultural community. Underlying trust or distrust in institutions were different metaphors for different groups. For instance, older women's default trust in government authority was based on a food metaphor that frames Allah as the ultimate source of power, feeding the government with power/information. This contrasted with the building metaphor underlying younger participants' perceptions of social inequalities linked to institutional distrust - i.e. the notion that society has been built to the advantage of certain groups. Thus, while the overriding tendency across the sample was for greater trust in local instructions than national ones, trust works very differently for different people in the community depending on their roles in the informational ecology. Narrative analysis 9) For all our participants, stories were drawn upon as ways of explaining and sharing information about COVID risk. Examples of family members, friends, and neighbours experiencing symptoms, passing away, not being able to see family, were used to identify symptoms, risk, and public health measures. 10) There were marked structural differences between the Sylheti storytelling by our older participants and the story telling in English by their younger relatives. The English stories were mostly linear, moving from introductory descriptions of setting and cast of characters directly to climax, with the storyteller framed as the main character. The Sylheti stories on the other hand wove together multiple intersecting storylines, with different characters from their social field cast as the main characters. For example, one participant described how his neighbour in Bangladesh experienced a persistent cough and body pain that led him to be in hospital for 10 days before he passed away. The neighbour was 10 years younger, so the point he was making was that even someone younger was able to die and thus he was vulnerable. 11) The function of the stories was also different. The English stories were based around the experience of the storyteller and used as an example to illustrate a point the participant was making - that is, the point of the story was the story itself. The Sylheti stories, on the other hand, were built around the experiences of others (friends, neighbours and acquaintances) and appeared to express a need to validate information about COVID as an emerging threat through the experiences of those in their immediate and wider social network. |
| Exploitation Route | Academic pathways Our inclusive, bottom-up approach and community partnerships provide a model for how academic studies can draw upon the voices of people typically neglected by research and labelled "hard to reach". Although the analyses focus on a particular ethnic group, as our collaborations with GPs and activists from other ethnic groups have shown, our findings apply more widely to communities that have an oral language tradition. The thematic analysis informs our understanding of the informal risk communication systems in such communities during a time of crises. More broadly, these insights have implications for the role of sociocultural context and social networks in risk communication, and for how important risk mitigations such as social distancing are interpreted and evaluated. The findings of the two linguistic analyses inform an understanding of how risks are conceptualised in an oral language spoken by a diasporic community, and, thus on the connections between language, culture, community and risk. The comparison with the English data adds to our understanding of the types of conceptualisation that are readily translatable from a written language into an oral one, and those which are not. Non academic pathways The co-created interventions based on the research set a model for how academics, health practitioners and civil society can collaborate to generate community tailored solutions in the face of a shifting and complex health threat. With our continuing collaborations with public health bodies, we are contributing to a recognition of the need to make oral resources available to minority ethnic and minority linguistic groups as a form of community empowerment - a crucial recognition for any future public health or other crises. Our recommendations based on the concept of mediation as a communication strategy for oral language groups inform a) strategies for community engagement and establishing trust b) strategies for designing messages to promote their successful cross-linguistic and cross-cultural mediation. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/covid-19-vulnerability-and-social-distancing-uk-urban-dwelling-bangladeshis |
| Description | Our analyses of how UK Bangladeshis have accessed, interpreted and assessed information about COVID-19 and social distancing have identified how mediation - the act of making information accessible, relatable and resonant for those unable to access it independently - has been vital to how this ethnic group have engaged with advice and responded to measures throughout the pandemic. In applying our findings in our outreach work with other oral language groups we have identified strategies for promoting successful mediation. We advocated for our model of mediation to be included in emergency preparedness plans for more resilient communities at a local and national level (e.g. UKHSA, DHSC). The feedback from stakeholders from our ongoing outreach and dissemination work has been overwhelmingly positive (e.g. we were nominated for a community award in Luton and received a faculty impact award), and has led to collaborations with nine new partners. Our animated film that provides linguistically and culturally tailored messages embedded in an engaging narrative about the community's experience of the first two lockdowns has been widely praised by stakeholders within the Bangladeshi communities, local government and by senior members of the government's pandemic response. The film, televised on local media, promoted public awareness of the ever-present risk posed by the virus and the need to follow government advice during a critical period. More details of our public engagement, policy impact and knowledge transfer work are given below. 1) The CoronAwareness project funded from KCL's impact acceleration account seeks to address a gap in messaging about COVID-19 for ethnic minority groups with an oral language tradition. Working with our GP partners and activists from three communities, we have been developing and promoting video messages about the risk to COVID-19. The transcreation of the video scripts has been directly informed by our findings on how speakers of Sylheti as an oral language are engaging with current messaging, and dependent on our partnership with Dr Farhana Rahman, who produced an inclusive guide to COVID-19 risk focusing on BAME groups. The project has created the conditions for underserved communities to have access to more culturally and linguistically relevant information by creating an informational environment. Our videos increased awareness of social distancing measures and enhanced trust in locally communicated health messages - including those about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. After two months, our social media channels registered 17,533 views, with over 386 engagements (e.g. likes or shares). Our reach was extended through partnership with JKTV (a TV station for Pahari speakers, with a weekly viewership of 1.2 million). Our video on the vaccine reached over 74,800 people based on the metrics of their Facebook site. A 90-second version was broadcast 4-6 times a day for one week. Anecdotal and qualitative data from the project team suggested a greater understanding of and trust in public health measures and a positive reception - e.g. we were nominated for a community award in Luton and one of the project's GPs, Dr Tahir Mehmood, has now received multiple awards (Mayor of Luton, Royal College Faculty award) for his community work on the project and during the pandemic. 2) Consultancy on "health champions" project funded by the NHS and run by the Asian Resource Centre Croydon. We developed a training programme for the trainers of "health champions" to act as linguistic and cultural mediators of advice about COVID-19. The training programme draws upon the project findings relating to mediation as a strategy for promoting social learning, as well data relating to links between socioculturally rooted beliefs and compliance and linguistic insights into differences in oral and written conceptualisations of risk. The training received excellent feedback, e.g. that it provided a "broader understanding of how to be able to help the community as to their beliefs, attitudes and their needs". By employing a "trainer the trainer" model, we supported a diverse range of community workers in providing advice to members of their communities. 3) Our animated film that draws on our data analyses raised awareness amongst UK Bangladeshis of the importance of mediation in countering misinformation and spreading awareness and thereby reducing risk at a critical period in the pandemic (autumn/winter 2021-2). Launched at an event moderated by the Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets - it was described as "powerful" and "haunting". It was shown on Channel S (the most viewed Bengali channel in Europe) 3-4 times/week for a month. This followed a televised interview with the PI, providing contextualisation for the film's primary message. In March 2022, we also held a press conference with the UK Bengali news media, which generated further awareness of the film nationally, e.g. the project and film were reported on in the leading UK Bengali newspapers and TV channels. 4) Guidance based on our work was shared as a best practice approach with local and national stakeholders at the 6 month stage - a time when there was low vaccine uptake by Bangladeshis and other oral language groups - and at two well attended dissemination events at the 12 month stage. Our recommendations were shared directly with UKHSA, a cross-Whitehall health counter-disinformation working group and the agency behind the UN COVID anti-disinformation campaign. We have also conducted co-dissemination workshops with other projects focusing on ethnic minority experiences of the pandemic (Volkswagen Foundation project University of Roehampton, AHRC funded Stay Home Stories project) and third sector organisations (Runnymede Trust). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Engagement with health practitioners on strategies for reaching oral language groups at BMJ's International Forum on Quality & Safety in Health Care in Europe |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| URL | https://internationalforum.bmj.com/europe/2021/03/11/m1-lifting-lockdown-a-grassroots-movement-that-... |
| Description | Presentation to cross-Whitehall Health Counter Disinformation Working Group |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Preventing COVID-related illness when social distancing measures are relaxed and tightened in ethnic minority communities with a strong oral tradition (CoronAwareness) |
| Amount | £7,500 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ESRC Slingshot |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 04/2021 |
| Description | Consultancy on "Health Champions" Programme |
| Organisation | Asian Resource Centre Croydon |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The PI directly contributed to Asian Resource Centre Croydon's (ARCC) successful application for a pilot proactive and awareness raising programme targeting COVID-19 high risk Asian families and vulnerable people in Croydon/SWL through participative community outreach. The PI and Co-I on the project were contracted as consultants on the pilot initiative. Our responsibilities were a) to advise on tailored communication, drawing on project insights into which principles were most relevant and needed for particular groups based on existing data on perceptions, beliefs and practices. b) Drawing upon project findings relating to the notion of "mediation" (see project findings) and linguistic insights into how Sylheti speakers conceptualise COVID risk, to design and lead modules on a training programme for ARCC's "health champions" (see below). We employed a "train the trainer" model, which subsequently enabled the trainees to run their own courses. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Asian Resource Centre Croydon (ARCC) had a critical role in supporting local communities during the pandemic. They were responsible for recruiting "health champions" to act as mediators of the latest advice on COVID-19 for their respective communities and for organising and hosting the training and conducting evaluation. The project was also in collaboration with Dr Farhana Rahman, who produced an inclusive and BAME-oriented guide, which was distributed widely and endorsed by, for example Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, Royal College of Nursing. This served as the medical basis for the training programme. Dr Rahman also contributed to the design of the training programme and led some of the sessions. |
| Impact | At an early stage the in project, the PI provided the document "guidance for health communication with Sylheti speakers" that outlined potential communication strategies for tailored communication based on emerging findings and our previous work. The full training programme consisted of four modules and accompanying materials alongside a teaching guide to the materials to enable cascade. The training received excellent feedback, e.g. that it provided a "broader understanding of how to be able to help the community as to their beliefs, attitudes and their needs". Trainees were able to use the training in subsequent training of community workers. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A corona story - animated film |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Drawing on our analyses, we created an animated film to engage UK Bangladeshis with our findings about the importance of mediation in countering the spread of misinformation and to provide a linguistic and culturally sensitive framing for embedded messages about risk mitigation and vaccine uptake. The film was community as well as data driven - three generations of local Bangladeshis were involved in its design and production and the animator - Diwas Bisht - has produced work for the local festival "A season of Bangla drama". Our film raised awareness amongst UK Bangladeshis of the importance of mediation in countering misinformation and spreading awareness - thereby increasing trust in key mitigations and capacities to make risk reducing decisions in the community. Launched at an event moderated by the Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets - it was described as "powerful" and "haunting". It was shown on Channel S (the most viewed Bengali channel in Europe) 3-4 times/week for a month. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DleLXzqS3M4&t=29s |
| Description | Bangladesh film launch event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The webinar was co-hosted by four Bangladeshi Universities to introduce our research findings and the animated film as they pertained to the diaspora's experience of the pandemic. The event included a presentation, film screening and a panel discussion with the PI, animator and community researchers from the project. We engaged three audiences i) young researchers and academics working in Bangladesh on generating impact from linguistics and social science research (using the project as an example). ii) Members of the general public and academia interested in the issues faced by the diaspora and their social and linguistic context iii) practitioners at NGOs involved in similar communication projects. The event sparked questions from participants and requests for follow up - e.g. the leader of a NGO said she would be drawing on our use of animation as part of their health communication strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ThH1Eo23fg |
| Description | Blog on the dynamics of trust for the IPPO |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In response to a request by the International Public Policy Observatory, we wrote a blog on the dynamics of trust for oral language groups and the implications for trust building on a local level. Posted on the IPPO site, this provided timely exposure for our findings at a time when vaccine uptake was slow amongst the South Asian Groups we have been working with. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://covidandsociety.com/covid-19-share-information-build-trust-minority-ethnic-communities-oral-... |
| Description | BritBanglaCovid public meetings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | In the first 3 months of the project, the PI was invited to a series of public meetings held by BritBanglaCovid - a platform set up to share Bangladeshi experiences of the pandemic. These were open discussions focusing on a range of issues related to the pandemic and attended by national and local politicians, community activists, other supporters of the Bangladeshi community and members of the general public. As well as spreading knowledge of the project amongst key stakeholder groups, the discussions served to shape the directions and methodology of the project, e.g. the design of the interview guide, and identify stakeholders and partners. Two major outcomes were our projects with the Asian Resource Centre in Croydon and with Dr Farhana Rahman on the CoronAwareness project (see Collaborations/Partnerships). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.britbanglacovid.com/search?updated-max=2020-12-23T05:42:00-08:00&max-results=7 |
| Description | Communication inequalities & minority ethnic groups: Lessons Learned from UK Bangladeshi experiences of the pandemic (webinar) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Alongside our partner, the Asian Resource Centre Croydon, we presented our recommendations for building trust and developing more inclusive communication practices with minority ethnic groups at a webinar for policymakers, researchers and civil society. The event was well attended (around 150 people registered) and included an excellent range of policymakers and practitioners from key groups (UKHSA, DHSC), as well as local government and the third sector.Feedback on the project was excellent, with multiple requests for more information and potential collaboration. For instance, we were invited to present our work and advocacy for mediation as part of emergency planning to a HPRU at UKHSA. We have also had discussions with potential partners in view of applying what we have learned from the pandemic to other areas, e.g. Genomics England. A briefing document outlining our recommendations has been distributed to all participants prompting further engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/communication-inequalities-minority-ethnic-groups-lessons-learned-from-... |
| Description | CoronAwareness |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Engagement with stakeholder groups early on the in project and emerging findings pointed to a gap in messaging tailored to ethnic minority groups that have an oral language tradition. We successfully applied for funding (ESRC slingshot account) for a project seeking to prevent COVID-related illness in ethnic minority communities by increasing awareness of appropriate social distancing measures, improving communication skills among GPs and local councils, and enhancing trust in locally communicated health messages. To this end, drawing upon the emerging findings relating to how UK Bangladeshis were accessing and engaging with messages, we produced a series of videos on social distancing measures in three minority languages, namely Sylheti, Pashto and Pahari. Our partners on this project are Dr Farhana Rahman, whose inclusive and BAME-oriented guide on social distancing measures formed the medical basis for the videos, AskDoc, Widgit Software, as well as GPs and community liaisons from the three target groups. The project is supported and has received a number of important community endorsements, including: Doctors' Association UK, Nottingham Bangladesh Centre, Meet the Medics Bangladeshi Doctors in the UK and the Swadhinata Trust. We promoted the videos and guidelines using Facebook, Youtube and Twitter as platforms and by building extensive UK wide networks of community organisations, local media, local politicians, and local GPs. In addition, the videos have been shared with 3 news outlets, 12 community groups and a number of WhatsApp groups, for which we do not have metrics. They have also been shared with community activists and c. 30 politicians. Building these networks has given us a direct platform to apply project findings as they relate to the changing risk scenario. For instance, in response to the low uptake on vaccinations by UK Bangladeshis and other South East Asian groups, we created videos that promoted vaccine uptake that are based on relevant data from our two analyses. Conversely, the process of transcreating these videos in close collaboration with our GP partners and community liaisons has informed our understanding of the Sylheti data and on the process of information sharing that is so fundamental to these communities. Our videos increased awareness of social distancing measures and enhanced trust in locally communicated health messages - including those about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. After two months, our social media channels registered 17,533 views, with over 386 engagements (e.g. likes or shares). Our reach was extended through partnership with JKTV (a TV station for Pahari speakers, with a weekly viewership of 1.2 million). Our video on the vaccine reached over 74,800 people based on the metrics of their Facebook site. A 90-second version was broadcast 4-6 times a day for one week. Anecdotal and qualitative data from the project team suggested a greater understanding of and trust in public health measures and a positive reception - e.g. we were nominated for a community award in Luton. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/coronawareness |
| Description | Emerging findings relating to vaccine rollout to UK Bangladeshis |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | When it became clear during vaccine rollout that uptake was lower amongst UK Bangladeshis, we presented emerging findings on key issues such as trust and linguistic and cultural mediation to the Tower Hamlets Director of Public Health, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing and their teams - a key stakeholder group. Participants commented that the notion of mediation and mediation strategies were useful for their COVID champions initiative, which they were using to promote vaccine uptake. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Film launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We held an online film launch and public discussion on 9th September to raise awareness of the animated film and to engage members of the public and civil society on how to address the communication inequalities faced by UK Bangladeshis. Over 100 people signed up for the event, which was moderated by the Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets. Event participants provided constructive feedback on the film at a late stage of its development. There has been useful follow up. For instance, we have been invited to present and screen the film at a public event organized by Healthwatch Tower Hamlets focusing on communication issues during the pandemic and at a Symposium at the Museum of the Home focusing on the impact of the pandemic on homelife. There is also evidence of practitioner engagement, e.g. a ESOL teacher working with Bangladeshi women developed a set of activities based around the film, and the health lead at Tower Hamlets has discussed using the film as part of their communication strategy on COVID. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/a-corona-story-addressing-the-inequalities-faced-by-uk-bangladeshis |
| Description | IPPO's action on inequalities event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The PI contributed to the Action on Inequalities event by the International Public Policy Observatory, which aims to mobilise and assess evidence from around the world on the pandemic to inform UK policymakers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://covidandsociety.com/about-ippo/ |
| Description | Learning about Covid-19 in East London's Bangladeshi Community |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The PI presented project findings as part of a focus group discussion held by our Community partners the Swadhinata Trust. Participants were from diverse backgrounds - third sector organisations, the NHS, academic and study participants. This permitted discussion of emerging findings and potential directions from a range of perspectives, resulting in in invitations to link with other academic studies and to present at an NHS Inequalities/ Population Health meeting (a key stakeholder group). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Media interview Channel S |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PI and one of the community researchers were interviewed about the project and our animated film on Channel S (The most viewed Bengali language channel in Europe). We discussed the aims and scope of the project and introduced a trailer for the film. This interview provided the audience a context for the animated film and its underlying messages about mitigating risk in the community before it was broadcast on the channel - boosting its impact on risk reducing behaviour. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://fb.watch/bH3SijxVLj/ |
| Description | Presentation to HPRU at UKHSA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We were invited to present our findings to a UKHSA group guiding the public health response to the pandemic. We advocated for our model of mediation to be included in emergency preparedness plans for more resilient communities at a local and national level and presented the animated film as an example of he linguistic and cultural tailoring required to reach minority groups. After the presentation, a consultant commented: "You raised so many pertinent points... ...I am sure this will lead us to work with you again - hopefully if you can be more available via the HPRU to deliver front line solutions in emergencies to communities not always reached. I suspect this maybe which is where UK Health Security Agency will focus efforts in the future". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Press conference at London Bangla Press Club |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | We held a press conference to raise awareness of the project output - an animated film as linguistically and culturally tailored outreach about the risks of COVID-19 and their mitigation. It was held at London Bangla Press Club - and organisation that acts as an intermediary for the long-established UK Bengali news media. Representatives of Sylheti and Bengali language TV stations (e.g. Channel S) and newspapers (e.g. Janomot, Potrika) attended. The PI and community researchers discussed and answered questions on the project and the animated film (which was shown to the media) alongside a press release. The event was subsequently reported in print and TV media with a national reach. The event raised awareness of the project, thereby providing a context for engagement with the central messages of the film. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.janomot.com/news/36865 |
| Description | Recommendations for promoting vaccine uptake |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In response to the low uptake of vaccinations amongst UK Bangladeshis, we developed a series of recommendations for communication based on the emerging findings. This was distributed digitally to study participants who had been interviewed as information sharers, study gatekeepers (including a wide range of third sector and local government stakeholders), members of local government in Tower Hamlets and other boroughs (Brent, Croydon, Richmond and Camden) engaged in communicating with the community about vaccine uptake, Bangladeshi MPs, Networks of GP and through our networks in Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care working on vaccine uptake with BAME communities. This dissemination led to additional tailored engagement for particular groups (see other engagement activities) as well as follow up conversations with individuals, e.g. the Chair of the Muslim Doctor's Association. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/coronawareness |
| Description | Speaker at BritBanglaCovid public meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The PI contributed to a public meeting organised by BritBanglaCovid ( a platform for sharing the experience of British Bangladeshis prior to and during the pandemic) focusing on mitigating the risks posed by Omicron as an emerging variant. Our contribution to the discussion was to highlight the need for co-designed solutions between local government, communities and researchers, and the role of local mediators in engaging their communities about emerging threats. The subsequent discussion with the health campaigners, senior members of local government and representatives from community groups supporting East London's minority ethnic groups on the platform helped shape paths for future collaboration - e.g. a focus on the Somali community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Television Interview JKTV |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | JKTV an independent TV station serving the people that form the Kashmiri diaspora (weekly viewership of 1.2 million) broadcast a 1-hour interview with the PI and our GP partner Dr Farhana Rahman on the aims, findings and remit of the research project and our collaborative work on our CoronAwareness outreach project. The Pahari speaking GP appearing in our outreach videos was also interviewed separately about his experience on the project. The interviews raised the profile of our outreach work and the research underlying it - our video raising awareness about the vaccine subsequently shown on JKTV coincided with a spike in viewership for the station. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Who to Trust during a pandemic? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop brought together researchers in London, Stuttgart, Milan and Dhaka to report on and discuss findings from projects undertaken between 2021 and 2022 focusing on the local responses of Bangladeshis and other ethnic groups to government actors during COVID-19. The workshop drew comparisons between minority experiences in Milan, Stuttgart and London and also included researchers from the Volkswagen project on state actors and minority communities, the AHRC funded Stay Home Stories project, perspectives from Bangladesh (Dhaka University, Bangladesh Open University) and from Dr Halima Begum of the Runnymede Trust as well as activists from the local Bangladeshi community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/who-to-trust-in-a-pandemic-ten-findings-from-research-projects-in-london-stutt... |
| Description | Workshop as part of a symposium linked to the AHRC funded project "Stay home: rethinking the domestic in the COVID-19 pandemic" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PI, community researchers, translators and Research Associate prepared a workshop as part of a symposium on shifting conceptualisations and experience of the pandemic at the Museum of the Home. Drawing upon our data we explored the connectivity between cultural background and the conceptualisations of family life and how the pandemic impinged upon and violated such conceptualisations and the link to the oral language spoken in the community (Sylheti). The workshop format and our use of the animated film provided a creative and engaging forum for the mixture of practitioners, third sector, researchers and the general public to experience what we had learned from our less heard participant groups. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.stayhomestories.co.uk/covid-19-and-home-symposium |