Now that's what I call blogging 2020: the Covid edition

Posted by Mark Welford, Fuse Communications Officer, Teesside University

It was business as usual for the Fuse blog in January 2020.  PhD student Kelly Rose told us about having sleepless nights thinking about school food and teenage diets; Coral Hanson and her co-authors channelled their inner Mr Motivator to consider whether exercise referral was fit for a new decade; and Angela Wearn asked if reaching the ‘hard-to-reach’ meant leaving traditional academia at the door?

So far so good… and then the ‘C’ word arrived and the world changed and with it the Fuse blog in the form of John Mooney’s frighteningly prescient post on the 5 February - Coronavirus: expect the unexpected in an unfolding emergency.

Last year we published posts about workplace health, tackling obesity through planning policy, the impact of commercial actors on health, food shaming, mental health, the emotional road to impact, Universal Credit, facing a Parliamentary Select Committee, inequalities, family carers of people living with dementia, International Men’s Day (yes, there is one!), and kicking Coca-Cola out of Christmas.

Our authors asked: 

• Can your education, income or even your job affect your chances of receiving newer cancer treatments? 
• Why is it so difficult to change our health habits? 
• Does antibiotic prescribing penalise communities in most need? 
• Would easy-read documents for all mean a more inclusive healthcare system? and;
• What is the recipe for a happy retirement?

But it will come as no surprise that the 2020 chart of the top five most-read Fuse blog posts is dominated by one topic: Coronavirus, Covid-19 or just plain COVID.

Here are our chart-toppers of 2020:

5. Experts by Experience challenge us to create opportunities for them to take the lead in research

First up is our only non-Covid related entry in which Angela Broadbridge and Ged Hazlehurst from the Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead project write about co-producing research with people with lived experience of multiple and complex needs.

Page views: 1727.  Posted: 15 May 2020

4. COVID-19 has brought the “digital divide” to the fore

Gemma Wilson from Northumbria University explores how a lack of access to technology and wider support networks during the pandemic is significantly heightening inequalities.

Page views: 1839.  Posted: 29 May 2020

 

3. Coronavirus: expect the unexpected in an unfolding emergency

Up next is the aforementioned post by John Mooney, Locum Consultant in Public Health at NHS Highland and one-time specialist in the epidemiology of respiratory infectious diseases. Published days after the first confirmed UK cases, John's blog was prophetic in highlighting the potential for symptomless transmission, virus instability and divergent strains.

Page views: 1909.  Posted: 5 Feb 2020

 

2. This crisis has shown how many people were only just about managing

Our runner-up is Mandy Cheetham from Northumbria University writing about her experience with a community hub delivering food parcels, prescriptions and supporting vulnerable people during the pandemic.

Page views: 2019.  Posted: 9 May 2020

 

1. Working from home isn’t for everyone - here’s how to cope if you’re struggling

"Being isolated at home can be hard; it is easy to feel cut off from friends and co-workers, to feel out of the loop when it comes to work decisions and to feel stressed with how best to work when at home."  

During the first national lockdowns imposed by the UK governments, Annabel van Griethuysen from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, shared her tips on working from home. These include keeping a routine, eating and drinking well, having a completely separate space to work (if possible) which is tidied or hidden away at the end of the day, staying connected and reaching out to talk to your social circles if you feel anxious and stressed.

At a time when many people are again being asked to work from home it is apt that Annabel's post should take the crown as most popular blog in 2020.

Page views: 2106.  Posted: 9 April 2020

So there you have it, the top five Fuse blog posts from 2020.  All five received more page views than last year's number one, which is thanks to our loyal readers and fantastic contributors - thank you!  

Can we do any better in 2021?  If you fancy giving it a go, please find out what we are looking for and how to take part here.  All contributors receive a much sought-after Fuse badge, and the writer of the most read post wins a rare and coveted Fuse paperweight.*

Happy New Year!

*when we are allowed back in the office!

Images:

1. "Now That's What I Call Music! 1991" by Brett Jordan is licensed under CC BY 2.0
2. Courtesy of Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead: http://www.fulfillinglives-ng.org.uk

All page views correct at the time of writing.

Summer school at home: Learning online and adapting research to reach the ‘hard to reach’

Posted by Emma Adams, Newcastle University, and Jo Dawes, University College London, NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) Pre-Doctoral Fellows

Starting a new post in a new institution just as a global pandemic and lockdown sweeps the UK is not how we envisaged beginning our NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) fellowships. When our training and development allowance letters came through initial thoughts were to delay booking any training until it was possible to attend in person. However, as time passed, it became clear we may be waiting some time. This realisation coincided with hearing about the “Applied Research Methods with hidden, marginal and excluded populations” course run by Nuffield College, University of Oxford. The course is usually a weeklong residential summer school, but this year it was offered online. The idea of spending five full days sitting at home doing online learning seemed a disappointing second best to a week in Oxford and somewhat limited our enthusiasm. However, these concerns were misplaced. We could not believe how engaging the course was, with tutor Andrea Rossi doing an excellent job of varying the activities, keeping us captivated and packing the course with relevant, interesting, and interactive tasks. 

For this ‘participatory research method’ we were given 5 minutes to create a map of our childhood community, using items we could easily reach. The task was designed as an ‘icebreaker’ activity to start a conversation about our childhoods. Using available objects, rather than drawing, takes away any pressure interviewees might feel about their aptitude for drawing. This activity could be adapted in rural communities using found items outside. Once my map was created, I talked about the map and why I had highlighted specific aspects of my community - this is the point at which ‘data collection’ might start.

Beginning with what makes a population ‘hard to reach’, we were armed with the linguistic tools to define whether our population was hidden, marginal, elusive, rare, excluded, or blurred (see Table 1 for breakdown). By breaking down populations into these different categories, we were better able to understand approaches for reaching and involving them in research. People experiencing homelessness may be perceived as ‘hard to reach’, when in fact they might just be elusive (purposely hiding or not reporting). If we, as researchers, recognise individuals may be making a conscious decision not to report, then perhaps we need to build a foundation of trust. The responsibility a researcher has to find ways to reach the ‘hard to reach’ was one of the most important things that we learned. 

With optimism that the virtual learning might not be as onerous as we had feared, we jumped into three days of research methods (both qualitative and quantitative). Challenging us to approach every technique from both the researcher and participant perspective, we were pulled out of our comfort zones and into creatively mixing research techniques. Opportunities to transform recruitment strategies (such as respondent driven sampling into a data collection tool for analysing social networks were explored. Learning to make the interview experience more interactive challenged our preconceptions of data collection - ever thought about asking a participant to reconstruct an important/memorable place with only items in their kitchen? Having experienced this first-hand, we both agree it was a great facilitation tool as a participant and researcher. The breadth of material in the course left us feeling that it was a week well spent, despite the initial apprehension and sitting at a computer in the blistering summer heat.

As a result of attending this course, we have already adapted how we approach our research activities. Jo was struggling to define a ‘hard to reach’ population in a patient and public involvement (PPI) paper. The course provided real clarity about this topic and helped her confidently address this definition in her writing. Emma was trying to find a way to approach recruitment and the re-shaping and framing of populations has provided me with optimism about my future recruitment strategy.

There is no doubt that by learning online instead of face-to-face, we really missed out on networking opportunities with our course peers - nothing could really replace a good natter over coffee. Conversely, the online nature of the course really opened up the cohort - we were learning with people sitting in their homes in England, Wales, Switzerland, France and Germany, while our tutor taught us from his apartment in Bangkok. Perhaps without being online, we would have been a far less international cohort. After undertaking this excellent course, we certainly feel more positive about online learning, how engaging it can be and how - in these uncertain times - it is important to not simply wait for face-to-face learning to return as the norm. The variety of learning and research activities we used online challenged us to translate so much of what we usually do face-to-face to our ‘virtual classroom’. As a result, we developed skills in how to adapt our current methods of communication in our research.

Our take home messages from the course:

1. Online research and learning can work well if you are creative and willing to be flexible.
2. Researchers must consider reasons some populations are ‘hard to reach' (are they rare, hidden, elusive, marginal, excluded or blurred?).
3. When you recognise WHY a group of people are ‘hard to reach’, you must adapt your research methods to better reach them.
4. Through mixing methods/data sources you can strengthen your understanding of ‘hard to reach’ groups.

The tickle monster, the exhausted academic and the Select Committee

Posted by Dr Sophie Wickham, Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, Dept of Public Health & Policy, University of Liverpool

In the second instalment of our posts about giving evidence to parliament during lockdown, Dr Sophie Wickham writes about navigating work and childcare in preparation to appear before TWO committee panels.

How do you adequately prepare for what feels like the most important milestone in your academic career? In ‘The Before Time’, pre-lockdown, for me, this would have meant revising and rehearsing, collecting advice and feedback from mentors and peers – and repeating the process until I felt polished and confident. It can take hours, days even, of focus, repetition and attention to detail, to hone the take-home messages from the research, and ensure that, under pressure, they are communicated with ease. But in the early days of these ‘Strange New Times’, this usual process became untenable. Part of my mind was devoted to worrying about the future, the rest to entertaining a 3-year-old, rolling around on the floor, playing eye-spy or assuming the role of an otherworldly tickle monster. My powers of persuasion were devoted to parenthood, begging my child to try new foods – the consequence of supermarket shortages in the early days of panic-buying – or to join me on long walks, in the faint hope of a full night’s sleep, so far elusive. Navigating a full day’s childcare and snatching some hours of work at dawn and dusk, naturally my productivity plummeted – and with it my ability to remain engaged with my work, and to focus on the task ahead. 

What was I trying to prepare for? Two things:

1. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Universal Credit and Mental Health. This cross-party group brings together Members of Parliament wishing to discuss constituents’ experiences of Universal Credit, receive advice and support from various agencies, share best practice, and monitor this critical policy as it is rolled out. On 28 February, the Lancet Public Health had published the online edition of an article I had submitted with colleagues at the University of Liverpool, on the mental health impacts of Universal Credit. It had immediately been picked up by the APPG secretariat and, that same day, I had received an invitation to speak before the group. With lockdown came a hiatus in all physical oral evidence presentations, and the event had been deferred and moved online. As it turned out, the new date was only a week after what was to be a second daunting event.
2. The House of Commons Work and Pension Select Committee (SC) on Universal Credit and the wait for first payment. The Select Committee had opened an inquiry into the matter and asked for written evidence. Findings from these committees are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then has 60 days to respond to the committee's recommendations. Just as lockdown descended, I and other researchers had submitted written evidence, combining our quantitative findings (Wickham et al 2020) with robust qualitative findings (Cheetham et al 2019). As first author on the quantitative article, I had been invited to give oral evidence, alongside Dr Mandy Cheetham, the qualitative lead (read about Mandy’s experience here).

All-Party Parliamentary Groups, senior colleagues in my Department had informed me, were relatively relaxed and involved 10-minute presentations by each panel member, followed by MP’s questions. The entire meeting would last an hour. Colleagues that have made the trip to parliament to present evidence to APPGs in person described the experience as positive – though there can be interruptions, when MPs are called to vote on bills. Select Committees are much more formal. You attend as a ‘witness’, answering questions posed by a small group of MPs – questions which you do not know in advance. Any evidence provided may be translated into recommendations from the Select Committee, to which the government must respond: the potential for evidence-based impact is huge. In short, I was terrified.

I knew that opportunities to speak directly to these committees are rare. I had been handed a brilliant opportunity, and felt the urgency and weight of responsibility in my whole body. I was told to “practice, practice, practice”. But as with many parents, the days leading up to the Select Committee, and all the days of lockdown that had gone before, were spent working at the fringes of my child’s waking hours, before 7am and after 8pm. I was able to lock in some practice interviews with senior colleagues at the tail-end of their working days or family time, and one colleague and friend spent an evening listening as I practiced, helping to fine-tune my answers.

To my relief, a few days before I was due to give evidence, my childminder resumed part-time work. For both events, I was able to fully concentrate on the task at hand. There are some advantages to providing evidence remotely:

1. You can be in your PJs from the waist down.
2. You can have notes… Notes all around you – on screens, walls, floor – anything that might catch your eye and support you in making your argument. 
3. You can do rapid research, if needed. 
4. It might feel less intimidating – after all, you are in your house, what’s the worst that can happen? 
5. Though I am dismayed by the mere existence of a “touch up my appearance” feature on Zoom, I absolutely used it. I found that it negated the need for make-up - war paint that I reserve for interviews and weddings. 
6. The simple logistical advantages. No need for travel or childcare arrangements, and, in the case of the APPG, MPs were not running off to vote on other matters and you have their undivided attention. 

I did not capitalise fully. I was in work clothes, head to toe, and my sparse notes did not obscure the screen. I felt self-conscious: seeing yourself, and the background to your everyday life in this context can be disconcerting. There is the distinct impression of giving others a window into your life that you may not want to share. But ultimately, the greatest disadvantage was the lack of preparation time. Would this be obvious, and impact how my evidence was interpreted?

The Select Committee was on the 17 June. Some initial sound problems were dealt with prior to live streaming. You are asked in advance to ensure that no one else is using your internet, and to power down any devices that access the internet, to ensure that all bandwidth is reserved for the Zoom call. When joining the call, I could see the Chair, Labour MP Stephen Timms, with a few socially distanced colleagues, in a parliamentary room. Joining remotely were the three other witnesses and other MPs, though these MPs were visible only when asking a question. I found this to be a challenge, as I tend to feed off body language and facial expressions. It felt a bit like a PhD viva, albeit an odd one. There was the same need to defend and justify my work, and the stakes were high – in this case the potential policy consequences. In the end, I felt as though I made my points. A few answers were long-winded, and I felt flustered on occasion – always a danger when you don’t know the questions in advance. When it was over, I mainly felt that more time was needed, given the depth and breadth of evidence on the topic.

The APPG was one week later. As anticipated, it was much more relaxed, but there were also many more MPs on the call, all working from home. In this committee, all questions to witnesses were presented in the chat feature. As a result, there was time to read and re-read a question before it was asked, and time to collect your thoughts before answering – something I wish I could have done for the Select Committee. This meeting also felt brief, but there was a palpable sense that both presenters and audience were eager to understand and improve the policy at hand.

Time will tell whether the evidence presented will translate into policy change. I feel good about my efforts to contribute; participating in both committee panels has been an exceptional experience. But behind the impact, behind the evidence and beyond the research, preparing for these events and sustaining the work has felt very much like keeping up with the Joneses, and I am exhausted.

Image:

1. "Do you have a last request before you go in front of the Commons Culture Select Committee?" by Grizelda Grizlingham via University of Kent, British Cartoon Archive (Reference number: GGD0368, Published by: The Independent, 25 Oct 2012, with thanks to Copyright holder: Grizelda Grizlingham): https://archive.cartoons.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=GGD0368&pos=80

If you are going to give up smoking, this is a very good moment to do it

In today’s Fuse blog Rachel McIlvenna, from Public Health South Tees, writes about managing a local specialist stop smoking service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Casting my mind back to when the news started reporting increasing numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK feels like a lifetime ago. Chief on my mind pre-lockdown, was to re-emphasise the need for adhering to our robust infection control procedures, but also given the new threat to health, ensure we had sufficient stock of disposable gloves for clinic venues where there were no hand washing facilities. Looking back now, those days feel like a different era and my team, I and perhaps most people in the UK were unaware that our world was going to be turned upside down. 

In the weeks that followed things changed at a dizzying pace resulting in me activating our continuity arrangements earlier than anticipated, largely dictated by the shifting landscape that depended in part on what we heard from the Government’s daily press briefings but also from our strategy and plans as a Local Authority.

As the rates of infections started to increase exponentially, many services scurried to shut down for the foreseeable future and rightly so; everyone had to do their part to flatten the curve. We, as a service, didn’t have such a luxury by virtue of the fact that stopping support midway through a treatment pathway was not an option. The chances of a client successfully quitting smoking increase with regular behavioral support and uninterrupted access to treatments, like Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and Champix tablets.

Being responsible for the care of over 200 clients during a pandemic needs careful consideration. Our contingency plans made provision to stop face-to-face consultations in March with interim arrangements to supply stop smoking treatments during the pandemic. This challenge was further amplified when we received guidance from the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) about ceasing all face-to-face consultations immediately and further news that the local community hubs, where clinics would normally be held, were shutting down completely to the public. So, without a location where clients could come and pick up their prescriptions regardless of social distance measures in place, we had to adapt our plans. Eventually and after several phone calls, we managed to support most of the clients via telephone and put arrangements in place for collection of scripts.

It didn’t end there though, as we then had the concern of how we would support new clients who wished to stop smoking, particularly pregnant women who were referred from maternity. Constant in my mind was safeguarding my staff and the public, so I knew that a long-term solution needed to be sought to minimise risk. After talking to several colleagues on the pros and cons of electronic vouchers and other options, we settled on posting prescriptions directly to clients (1st Class and with trackable labels) as it was the least restrictive option.

The next challenge was to introduce this very new way of working to my team, by explaining and demonstrating why this approach was best in these circumstances. Thankfully, a close colleague had helped me to draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which was soon amended and rolled out. This new way of dealing with scripts hasn’t been without its drawbacks. Sometimes the prescriptions have been delayed in the post for up to 10 days, which has meant that the staff have had to think 2-3 weeks ahead to ensure clients don’t run out of medication. But it has meant that we have minimised risk and enabled the team to work remotely from home, without the need to come to a central location to arrange for medication or go out to pharmacies, which have seen an increased demand during the pandemic.

The last few weeks have now been spent amplifying the #Quit4Covid message, learning from areas like Hertfordshire, Sheffield and Newcastle, and putting our own spin on these messages to engage smokers. This has included sending proactive text messages to unsuccessful quitters, bespoke postcards to homes of known smokers (who have given consent) and using social media. To date, we have seen promising results with many smokers engaging, and I am hopeful that there will be more dividends in future weeks.

What has been insightful for me has been the opportunity to lead our fantastic team of nurses during this period and observe their reactions to the unprecedented changes in their way of working and providing support for smokers. As a manager, it has been a privilege to help them navigate and accept the new realities that COVID-19 presents to all of us. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all been smooth sailing, there have been several minor blips with a fair dose of IT challenges, to name just one. In the last few weeks, I have felt a quiet steadying as my nurses have become more confident about the change in work practices that they were long accustomed to as clinical staff. The challenges of remote consultations have been accepted, as has the notion that for some clients our weekly or fortnightly contact is literally a lifesaving form of communication.

The emerging evidence around adverse outcomes for smokers with COVID has reinforced what I have believed for a long time. Supporting people to stop smoking is one of most important public health interventions and not just for a host of non-communicable diseases associated directly or indirectly with smoking, but now with the threat of a communicable disease like COVID-19. To echo the words of England’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Chris Whitty to the Health Select Committee:

“If you are going to give up smoking, this is a very good moment to do it”

Rachel McIlvenna works as an Advanced Public Health Practitioner for Public Health South Tees and leads on tobacco dependency and long term conditions. Her portfolio also includes managing the in-house specialist stop smoking service, which includes a small team of vibrant nurse prescribers.

For information on stopping smoking in Middlesbrough / Redcar & Cleveland, visit: https://www.stopsmokingsouthtees.co.uk


Image attribution
3: "Dominic Raab Covid-19 Presser 06/04" by Number 10 via Flickr.com, copyright © 2020: https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/49742982126/ (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Jerry-rigging, day chunking and comfy slippers: Coping with working from home

Posted by Jack Nicholls, Graduate Tutor, Northumbria University

I am a huge fan of Firefly. For the uninitiated, it’s a TV series centred on a rag-tag quasi-criminal crew, working for themselves on a tired but solid cargo spaceship, taking jobs as they can. It has a phenomenal amount to recommend it, and is rich and complex in terms of plot, dialogue and morality. Given that the ship serves as home, workspace, transport and social space, no-one discusses work-life balance. Maybe it’s not such an issue in sci-fi.

In the real world, most of our homes have over the last couple of months been 'jerry-rigged'* into offices, studio, workshops and lecture podiums. Some of us are sharing our new occupational spaces with family or flatmates with their own needs and pressures. Some of us are completely on our own, missing our colleagues. All possible permutations come with challenges and difficulties, and the one commonality is that there aren’t necessarily that many commonalities.

As the diversity of experiences became apparent, I decided to seek and compile a range of different coping strategies from colleagues in my department. What follows is the thematised synthesis of those colleagues’ input and ideas.


Getting writing (or anything else) done

My 'jerry-rigged' free-form workstation

• Short bursts of focused concentration throughout the day - Pomodoro technique is a variant of this.
• Daily goal of one substantial work task and one admin task
• ....or a day given over wholly to one or the other
• ....or a few small achievable goals.

• Shutting emails / twitter/ phone off for allotted time periods.
• Ending the day mid-sentence or with the next idea ready.
• Content drafting or form/language editing when writing, but never both at the same time 

Structure and timing

• Choose a daily time to start and definitely finish work, with regular breaks and small treats.
• Differentiate between the working week and the evenings/weekends/(bank) holidays.
• Alternatively......giving up on the 9-5... some are working in short bursts when able. 
• Use your best available thinking time for the more complex/academic/difficult/thinky work (generally morning for me).
• A ‘panic to do list’ - dump everything out of your head onto paper (work and otherwise) – then prioritise.
• To-do-list for the next day – 3 things max.
• Forcing yourself to do the worst job first - (known in some circles as ‘eat the frog’ – I can’t advise taking this literally ☹). 
• Split tasks up to reduce boredom/weariness. 
• If able, work early in the day on internet-reliant tasks (internet speed can slow in the afternoon).
• Spread the admin tasks throughout the week.
• Open the curtains in the morning, turn the lights on in the evening and then off before going to sleep - good for psychological rhythm.
• Agree to morning video calls - it forces you to get dressed.
• Clean and tidy up, either first or last thing - you will feel a sense of accomplishment and peace. 

Habits

• Get dressed for work – not necessarily what you’d wear to the office/library/placement – but something that is different to your ‘comfy’ wear. When you're finished working get changed.
• Alternatively...some find it freeing and comfortable to work in their pyjamas if they don’t have a Skype call.
• Comfy slippers, but smart/casual wear for torso (just in case anyone Zooms, FaceTimes or Teams you).
• Exercise at some point in the day – that could be anything – online pilates, weights, a stroll.
• Don’t work excessive hours and be realistic about expectations (it will never all be done).
• Get some fresh air – if you or one of your household are among the shielded, an open window will do.
• Give yourself a bedtime and try observing some sleep hygiene.
• Sing (or even dance) when you have a break and interact with pets if you have them.
• Keep in regular contact with colleagues and friends, but also be prepared to turn off contact devices when you need to concentrate.
• Keep your work space organised if possible – if space is limited, some people find it helpful to put all their work things on a tray, then it can be moved to wherever there is space, and quickly out of the away. 
• Some find working in the same place suits them, others move around for variety, or depending on the task.
• Switch the background on your Word document to something other than bright white – less strain on the eyes. Any pastel shade is good. 

Pickle & Missy failing to follow social distancing rules

These tips are diverse, and some contradict one another. This is neither a surprise nor a bad thing – academic staff, like anyone else, vary in their personal circumstances, geography, family situation, preferences and strengths. I don’t have caring responsibilities (rabbits aside) but am in a risky health category, so my time is possibly more flexible, but my ability to leave the house extra-limited. The way to look at this list is as a broad range of suggestions, and to take or try things that you think might work for you and your situation. It may be that some things work better under some circumstances than others, and there will be things here that just don’t work in your personal situation. Customise, reverse-engineer, and fit to your needs.

I’ll end where I started – with Firefly. The following exchange takes place after a tumultuous, dangerous escapade.

"We're still flying." 
"That's not much." 
"It's enough" 

Stay as safe as you can, and good luck.

*for those of a less nautical persuasion, 'jerry-rigged' or 'jury-rigged' means having temporary makeshift rigging. In this case my improvised workstation!


Contributors:
Melanie Gibson, Sarah Lonbay, Katie Haighton, Tim Rapley, Monique Lhussier, Natalie Foster, Sonia Dalkin, David Nichol, Julie-Anne Lowe, Kay Heslop, Peter Kruithof, Donna Carlyle

Image:

1. "Firefly boxset cover" by Tom Mulrooney via Flickr.com, copyright © 2006: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mullers/232714398. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Working from home isn’t for everyone - here’s how to cope if you’re struggling

Posted by Annabel van Griethuysen, Floating Dietetic Clinical Specialist, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV)

You may find yourself, as I have, being asked to work from home during the COVID-19 crisis. Although my work as a dietitian is vital to the NHS and to the care of patients, it is something which can be done remotely. Whilst those working from home may feel relieved in some ways to be able to socially distance, unlike our colleagues in front line services, this still comes with its own challenges.

Being isolated at home can be hard; it is easy to feel cut off from friends and co-workers, to feel out of the loop when it comes to work decisions and to feel stressed with how best to work when at home. Some people may find it frustrating that they cannot work as they did, and find performance dropping; others have told me that they are working over and beyond to almost prove that they are still being productive.

Working from home works for some people, and not for others. So what should we do if we are asked to work from home, and are struggling?

One thing which is key is to ensure that you keep a routine as much as possible. It is tempting to roll out of bed and turn on the laptop; no hair brushing, in pyjamas, no makeup. However, getting up and keeping a routine is very helpful to maintain mental health and structure. Getting up with enough time to relax before turning on the computer, to get dressed and to have breakfast, will help to separate relaxing time at home from work time at home. This also goes for the rest of the day - make time to do enjoyable activities, make sure you are getting enough sleep, and schedule breaks into your working day.

Ensuring you are eating and drinking well is also extremely important. Having time away from the computer for lunch and sitting in a different place to eat can help to break up the day and give you a much needed break. Generally, the British Dietetic Association has advised to continue to eat and drink normally throughout this pandemic, focussing on a balance of food groups. If we are struggling to shop regularly, they advise using fresh foods first, but also frozen, dried and tinned produce, for example vegetables, are still a valuable sources of nutrition. It is tempting to snack more when working from home; I know personally the lure of the biscuit tin is strong, but instead of reaching for a biscuit, try getting a hot drink, or having a wander to a different room for a 5 minute break. I’m lucky enough to have a garden to use to get a quick bit of exercise.

One thing to potentially consider is a supplement of vitamin D. This is usually the sunshine vitamin which, in the spring, we would be able to get from sunlight, but with limited exposure to the sun at the moment, a 10microgram supplement may be beneficial.

Having a completely separate space to work which is tidied or hidden away at the end of the day can help to establish structure and boundaries, and resist the temptation to work on into the night. Try to make sure that this space is appropriate as well, with a desk, supportive chair, and enough natural light and ventilation. It can also help to keep two or four legged ‘helpers’ at bay!

But finally, it is normal and understandable to feel anxious and stressed, especially at this time. So make sure you are talking if this is the case. Reach out to your social circles (I have somehow managed to teach my mother to use WhatsApp video calling!) and keep connected. Together we will be strong.

Some sources of support and information:

• The British Dietetic Association: Advice on Nutrition
• The Recovery College Online: Lots of advice, including on walking and exercise
• Managing Musculoskeletal Health in isolation
• NHS Advice on staying well at home
• Coronavirus: Five ways to work well from home (BBC)

Annabel is a Floating Dietetic Clinical Specialist at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV). Practitioner of Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Trade Union Representative for the BDA (Association of UK Dietitians) and Staff and Dietetic Wellness Champion.

Photo attribution: 

• 'Mom working from home' by Lyncconf Games, copyright © 2018: https://www.lyncconf.com (via Flickr.com: https://flickr.com/photos/nodstrum/42643527974) (CC BY 2.0)