Research study to develop support for teenagers’ experiences of COVID-19 in Low-Middle Income Countries

A grant of £65,000 is enabling early-career Global-NAMRIP member Polly Hardy-Johnson, and her colleagues Professor Mary Barker, Professor Caroline Fall, Associate Professor Kate Ward (all from the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit), Professor Shane Norris (University of Witwatersrand, University of Southampton), Dr Susie Weller and Daniella Watson (both from the University of Southampton) to expand the EACH-B research into teenagers’ experiences of COVID-19 to include Low-Middle Income Country (LMIC) research sites in Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia and India. 

Polly, a trainee Health Psychologist, won the award from the University of Southampton GCRF Strategic Development Fund, allowing expansion of the Teenagers' Experiences of COVID-19 (TeC-19) project which started in the UK using Southampton’s Global Health Network. 

The aims of the study are to understand how the pandemic is affecting the lives, mental health and well-being, and eating habits and physical activity behaviours of young people living in both rural and urban settings across sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa) and India.  

The next stage will be to develop resources to support young people to maintain well-being, eat well, keep active and adhere to government guidelines during the pandemic. Insights from the young people will be disseminated to the research sites’ local and national government and youth organisations. 

Finally, the data collected will be used to inform the design of future interventions to support young people adapt to life in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The project started in June and will run for 6 months. 

The original TeC-19 study, funded by the Institute of Life Sciences, saw researchers from Medicine’s MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and the Southampton Education School, Psychology and Health Sciences explore the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on young people and how they could be better supported during the pandemic.