Tag: Glasgow University

Scottish research into the experiences of deaf and blind people during the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a deprivation in the sense of touch

  • Scottish research into the experiences of deaf and blind people during the coronavirus pandemic reveals a deprivation in the sense of touch.
  • The results of the ‘Touch Post-COVID-19’ project led by the University of Glasgow informs the development of new technology which supports human interaction.
  • The project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) within UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) rapid response to COVID-19. 

Humans maintain large and complex social networks that are essential for not only our success as a species, but for our mental health and overall happiness. So, when the pandemic struck, an easily overlooked but dangerous aspect of social isolation in our newfound daily lives involved the loss of everyday physical touch.

Over the past two years, up and down the UK, thousands of research and innovation projects have been publicly funded to tackle the pandemic.

The University of Glasgow launched an 18-month project to investigate the impact of touch deprivation on the deafblind community during the pandemic. Named the ‘Touch Post-COVID-19’ project, it aimed to develop strategies and policies for people who rely on their sense of touch to discover the world around them.

The study collected audio-visual data such as interviews and audio diaries from participants to understand their experiences of space, memory, and social interactions.

This understanding helped create a tool for audio and visually impaired people to better navigate their surroundings in the post-pandemic world. The results will be used by researchers to develop new technologies to help facilitate safe and reliable communication and interaction with surroundings.

The work by the team at the University of Glasgow forms part of a £550 million COVID-19 rapid investment programme by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the largest public funder of research and development in the UK. 

The diversity of UKRI-funded projects is vast – from the world’s first COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to projects that help us understand and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our economy, environment, education, arts sector and mental health.

This funding builds on decades of public investment and research expertise which have provided the backbone to our national COVID-19 response.


Dr Azadeh Emadi, lecturer in Film and Television at The University pf Glasgow, who was part of the project comments: “The project aims to understand and reveal the relevance of deafblind experiences of touch and touch deprivation during COVID-19 to a larger general population.

“In collaboration with deafblind community, we gathered audio-visual data, in the form of audio diaries and interviews, about their experiences. From gathered data, we have been developing creative works, a policy brief, and a prototype device that enhances situational awareness through haptics technology informed by radar sensors.

“Our research data shows that COVID-19 has increased the intimacy and reliance on the relationship with close partners and guid communicators, but endangered broader access to social and cultural life.

“To rethink touch and address the increasing isolation of deafblind individuals require a new interdisciplinary framework, one that is based on mutual communication and inclusion of the community.”

Drug deaths: blame Thatcher?

Trainspotting

Rising inequality during the 1980s and an ‘erosion of hope’ in Scotland’s poorest housing schemes increased the risk of drug-related deaths among members of ‘Generation X’ in Scotland, according to new research. A study by NHS Health Scotland and Glasgow University has found that poorer men born between 1960 and 1980 were at greater risk because of the economic and social conditions during that period.

The study also found links to gender and deprivation: young men in poor neighbourhoods were found to be 10 times as likely to die from drugs as women of the same age from a more affluent area.

Researchers discovered the link while investigating the reasons why drug-related deaths have continued to rise. According to the most recent figures drug-related deaths reached an all-time high in 2015, when 706 people died.

Report author Dr Jon Minton from the University of Glasgow said his analysis was ‘consistent with the hypothesis that economic and other policy decisions during the 1980s created rising income inequality, the erosion of hope amongst those who were least resilient and able to adjust, and resulted in a delayed negative health impact.’

He said: “The same kind of pattern we have observed and reported on previously regarding the risk of suicide in vulnerable cohorts in deprived areas in Scotland is repeated, and even more clearly visible, when looking at trends in drug-related death risk.

“For people born in 1960s and 70s, the risk of drug-related deaths throughout the life course was much increased, and gender and area inequalities in these risks increased even more. The similarity in trends in both suicide and drug-related deaths suggests a common underlying cause.”

NHS Health Se in drug-related deaths was ‘likely to be the result of a cohort of people who are at higher risk’.

Dr Fraser said: “The full impact of excess mortality in these cohorts with high drug-related deaths is unlikely to be known for some time. It already represents the deaths of hundreds of people prematurely.

“We are hopeful that the findings will be useful in informing current and future policy to help prevent the creation of further cohorts at greater risk of drug-related deaths in Scotland.”

AileenCampbell

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell has announced a refresh of Scotland’s drug strategy, to respond to the changing nature of Scotland’s drug problem.

The Road to Recovery strategy was launched in 2008 and since then has been backed by more than £630 million of investment to ensure treatment is a person-centred and sustained offer.

Ms Campbell (above) also announced work is being progressed to develop a “Seek, Keep and Treat” framework. This joint initiative between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Drugs Forum will examine the operational implications of engaging with older drug users, how to encourage them into services and how to keep them in treatment.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said:

“I’m proud of what the Road to Recovery strategy has achieved. In Scotland, drug taking in the general adult population is falling and drug taking levels among young people remain low.

“However the nature of Scotland’s drug problem is changing and we need to adapt services to meet the needs of those most at risk, who we know face complex and wide ranging social and medical issues.

“In setting out our plans to refresh the existing strategy, I’m encouraging everyone involved in treatment services to think about how they can make changes at a local level. There is also a collective need to challenge the stigma of addition and build services based on respect and dignity, as well as clinical need.

“I look forward to hearing views from across the sector in the coming months as we work together to tackle the evolving and complex needs of those who suffer from problem drug misuse.”