Carvings in stone: design research for public health investigations in the age of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic presented complex challenges to public health research involving human subjects, necessitating creative thinking to maintain safe and productive qualitative data collection. In this paper, we describe how an interdisciplinary team overcame these challenges by translating in-person workshops into at-home design probes to explore connections between university students’ climate change attitudes and their health. Probes were purposively designed to facilitate and focus participation during lockdown with two key interactional components: (1) participant ⇔ probe, and (2) participant ⇔ physical environment. Thematic analysis of 18 completed probes (replete with elicitive drawing, etched stone, mapping, and writing activities) revealed a rich spectrum of climate change perceptions, eco-emotions, and key areas of impact. This case study provides insight into how pandemic-imposed restrictions presented a novel opportunity to reconceptualize how we collect qualitative data in public health research and summarizes the unique benefits of integrating such design-based approaches into the field moving forward.