June Nationwide survey will ask people how well they are coping as they emerge from lockdown

Phase four of the population wide survey, the Corona Citizens’ Science Study will ask the public how well they feel the government is balancing the lifting of restrictions with that of economic and social well-being.

It will also ask people about how well they feel they are coping with emerging from lockdown and, if a second wave of Covid-19 were to occur, would they adhere to a second nationwide lockdown and associated restrictions.

The Corona Citizens’ Science Study is conducted by research teams at NUI Galway, Dublin City University and the Insight SFI Centre for Data Analytics (NUI Galway) and is examining the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated restrictive measures (lockdown, social distancing) on daily life in Ireland*.

Phase four of the survey commences on Wednesday, June 17th at 06.00am and will remain open for 24 hours. The fourth instalment of the nationwide survey, includes a large proportion of questions which have been submitted by the public.

Respondents will be asked to comment on various aspects of their lives during lockdown, such as exercise, sex life and weight gain or loss while restrictions were in place.

Others questions will ask if people would wear face coverings if it meant reducing social distancing from 2 metres to 1 metre and whether or not you would like to continue working from home in the future.

Dr Akke Vellinga, Epidemiologist/Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine/Ryan Institute, NUI Galway, joint research lead said: “It has been six weeks since the last survey and a lot has changed. It is not only important to keep a record of the mood of the Irish people, but even more so, to understand how people feel about lockdown and restrictions today. The questions from the public will add a new and interesting dimension to the survey, and we are really curious to find out more.”

Professor Anthony Staines, Professor of Health Systems, DCU and joint research lead said: “We want to look at the reactions to lockdown, and in particular, how people feel about making a decision, whether to continue with lockdown measures in order to crush the curve, which is a point that is also being advocated for publicly.”

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