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Safety information, protocols, flowcharts and frameworks, and copies of existing policies (including for home working, online research, returning to work and COVID-​19 guidance) can be used to improve researcher safety and obtained from:

• occupational health;

• health and safety officers/​departments;

• human resources;

• campus security and estates;

• teaching and student unions;

• diversity, equality and inclusion departments/​officers;

• Ethics Committees/​IRBs;

• local, state and/​or national government;

• local, national or global healthcare organizations, committees and agencies;

• professional bodies/​organizations;

• training agencies and consultants.

Table 1.1 offers a starter framework suggesting ideas to adapt and expand to create your own researcher safety assessment. It details key areas where researchers may be exposed to disease, discomfort or danger.

Table 1.1 Researcher safety assessment framework

Area of risk	Impacts and outcomes	Addressing and managing risks
Ask: What has, will, or might happen? Who is most at risk, and why?	Reflect: Who might be affected or harmed and in what ways?	Consider: How to respond, deal with or cope with issues and events.
Equipment Items needed for safer work and study.	Researchers should not be required to purchase equipment or cover affiliated costs their institution should be meeting. Nor work without appropriate equipment.	Ensuring appropriate, functioning equipment is accessible to all. Training on how to use, transport and/​or store equipment. Repairing and replacing outdated or broken equipment. Providing effective PPE.
Travel Travelling for research by car, walking, cycling or public transport.	Transport links failing, breakdowns and accidents. Risks posed by other passengers. Dangers posed by public transport and exposure to COVID-​19.	Plan travel in advance. Universities/​research organizations pay travel costs. A shared diary noting researcher’s locations and schedules with a call-​in system where a missed call will trigger a safety response. If necessary, avoiding any travel for the time being.
Environment The built environment, adverse weather, isolated/​remote locations, extreme climates, unknown or unfamiliar locations. Some areas may be risky –​ including campuses and curriculums. Or due to disease, disaster or conflict.	Researchers may be at risk from the elements and dangers from unsafe locations (e.g. unsanitary or unstable buildings). LGBTQ+ researchers face danger in countries where being LGBTQ+ is illegal or stigmatized. Women researchers may be vulnerable in gender-​unequal communities. Black, Indigenous and researchers of colour may be at risk in majority white and/​or racist communities.	Ensuring researchers know where they are going, have the correct attire and equipment for the climate, access to maps, are vaccinated as necessary and understand and respect the environment, cultures and communities. Researchers should not be exposed to avoidable risks on or offline. It is the duty of an organization to keep researchers safe and adapt or end projects accordingly.
People This may include participants in research, their friends or relatives, people within research spaces. Plus staff and students in university spaces. And people encountered online.	Researchers may be directly at risk from participants who may be angry, abusive, infectious, prejudiced, threatening or unpredictable. Risks of physical, emotional or sexual harm or getting sick from others, being robbed or assaulted. Stalking, harassment, bullying or abuse –​ either from those encountered in research or more often work colleagues.	Knowing, understanding and respecting communities and participants in research. Training (as appropriate) in communication skills, understanding difference and diversity, de-​escalation and negotiating strategies, self-​defence and breakaway techniques. Designing research to be inclusive, accessible and, where possible, informed by participants and communities. Regular supervision and debriefing. The option to avoid particular participants or situations where risks are increased. Clear and enforced anti-​bullying policies. Postponing face-​to-​face research in COVID-​19 areas or switching it online.
Isolated and/​or lone working May include fieldwork in isolated settings, visits to participants’ homes, or researching alone online.	Loneliness, boredom, lack of a support network, communication delays and limited facilities can be an issue. As may anxiety and uncertainty over what to expect and how to act in different settings without others there to assist.	Using or creating lone worker policies. Ensuring those working alone are not left alone (give regular supervision and check-​ins). Encouraging researchers to use friendship networks on or offline. Postpone or relocate research/​ers if there are psychological or physical risks.
Labs Handling substances, untidy or understocked labs, poor supervision, lack of training, insufficient storage and inadequate or bullying working policies.	Untidy or unclean labs, where overwork is normalized, or researchers are required to work unsociable hours without time off and/​or during periods of unrest (e.g. if curfews are in place). Plus pushing presenteeism or discouraging taking holidays.	Clear, enforceable policies on lab safety, professional conduct, anti-​bullying and legal working hours and holidays. Training in the use, cleaning, stocking and storage of all equipment. Rotas and defined responsibilities for ensuring labs are safe, inclusive and non-​discriminatory.
Recording needs and questions, whistleblowing and/​or reporting adverse events Being able to ask for assistance, accommodations and accessibilities. Identifying errors or dangers and reporting them and/​or disclosing if negative things have occurred.	Researchers working within unsupportive, bullying or blaming cultures/​campuses or on badly organized projects may struggle to know who to report issues to; be blamed even though problems were not their fault; or be threatened to cover up abuses or ethical violations.	Clear pathways to seek help; and reporting mechanisms for noting errors, malpractice or other adverse incidents. This may include the option of reporting anonymously, and for those noting problems support and care should be provided.
‘Sensitive’ research Some topics are, by their nature, highly sensitive, such as violence, abuse, safeguarding, substance use, crime, death, sex or inequalities. Any study has the potential to be ‘sensitive’ as participants may use research to disclose distressing, moving or concerning issues.	The impact of witnessing, hearing or other exposure to participants’ stories, homes, health records or other personal data can be tiring, triggering, upsetting or traumatizing. As may incidents occurring within the lifespan of a project that are not directly related to a study (e.g. witnessing an accident or learning a participant has died).	Training for researchers to anticipate issues, set boundaries, have mechanisms for reporting (e.g. a buddy, diary or regular supervision) may help. Noting any unhealthy coping mechanisms/​trauma responses (e.g. using alcohol). Counselling should be offered strategically (not all upsetting research requires a counsellor, especially not immediately following an adverse event).
Supervision A supervisor who is over-​invested, micromanages, or is absent, distracted or otherwise negligent or abusive.	Researchers may be stressed due to being over-​monitored or left without instruction. Errors may occur if work is not adequately supervised. Researchers may feel unable to ask for help. Participants and wider communities may be harmed by unsafe practices and data may be inadequate or incorrect.	Support and training for supervisors. Assessment of supervisor workload. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for supervisors and teams (including frequency of meetings and feedback mechanisms). Pathways for reporting problems with supervisors or supervisees that do not leave either at risk of bullying, shaming or neglect.
Online working Physical problems resulting from long-​term computer use, exhaustion from live online meetings/​interviews, navigating social media and online spaces, feelings of being surveilled, with no downtime.	Demanding researchers’ cameras are always on can cause problems with accessibility (equipment and bandwidth); ableism (neurodiverse researchers may struggle); and safeguarding (if children present). Being pushed to work online without training, support or equipment, and working for long periods on a screen, can cause or worsen mental or physical health problems.	Providing equipment, training and resources for online home working (e.g. printers and ink, or a headset). Offering training in online research methods, online etiquette for video and text, and resources to support neurodiverse, deaf, blind and deaf/​blind researchers or those with other disabilities or chronic illness that make online research difficult or tiring. This may include more rest periods or extending projects. Noting the specific ethical and wellbeing issues of online working, not assuming that online equals no ethics required or that it is automatically easier, more inclusive or safer than offline work.
Data collection and analysis The pressure to obtain, analyse and report data can be overwhelming.	Primary or secondary data may be triggering in terms of content. The pressure to produce results and publishable/​impactful outcomes, while adapting rapidly to unfamiliar methods due to the pandemic, can be stressful and disorienting. As may the content of material being assessed (such as accounts of people living through or dying of COVID-​19).	Training on how to collect, enter, clean, analyse and report data. Support and supervision for those working with triggering, sensitive or politically charged data. Advice on data storage, privacy, protection and backups. Acknowledgement that data collection will be more difficult during a pandemic. Specific assistance for those required to collect data rapidly in real time to fight COVID-​19.
Health & hygiene Protection from risks such as needlestick injury; clean, safe and accessible toilets; reducing potential damage caused by long-​term computer use; reducing risk of contact with the public (and risk of contracting COVID-​19).	There may be risks to researchers’ physical health due to the environment or those they encounter. If the risk of becoming sick or injured is significant, studies should be amended to reduce harm or postponed without penalties on the researcher.	Provision of masks, hand sanitizers, antibacterial soap, protective clothing, screens, social distancing signage; plus updates on COVID-​19, institutional policies and workplace health and safety guidance. Inoculations, water purifying tablets. Occupational health assessments. Field-​based preparation prior to research (see above).
Rapid change and uncertainty Projects and programmes may alter due to unforeseen or shifting circumstances. Events within countries or communities may require projects to upscale or postpone. Researchers within teams getting sick may require others to take over roles. Changing health, war or humanitarian situations may require the removal or redeployment of researchers with other core skills (e.g. reservists, clinicians or policy makers).	In situations of rapid change and an unclear future it is difficult to make short-​ and long-​term progress. That may impact on what research is planned or started; methods used; new skills to be learned in a short space of time (e.g. online data collection); or side-​lining or postponing research.	Accepting the pandemic is not a stable situation allows us to be flexible, offer support, find alternative routes and prioritize wellbeing and care.

When adapting this table for your own use, add two new columns. One to note and regularly review levels of risk (high, medium and low) and the other to document what has changed or is required due to COVID-​19. You may also want to note who is responsible for tasks and indicate if/​when these have been done alongside any impacts or outcomes. Additionally, you may find it helpful to keep a written, audio or video diary; represent areas of risk as a flow chart; or create separate protocols and training sessions based on the degree to which the pandemic is impacting on your research. A curated list of researcher safety guidance and policies can be found here: https://​theresearchcompanion.com/​safetyprotocols.