The Nexus Between Social Capital and the Burden of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom

This project is about understanding how social capital has shaped the spatial epidemiological outcomes of COVID-19, and establishing the elements of social capital that will be important facilitators of the socio-economic, mental and physiologic recovery of communities after the pandemic. Observed variations in the severity of the disease in the UK has rejuvenated debates about the social context of health inequalities. Using a social capital framework, this study will determine how aspects of social relationships within the social networks of communities influence the spatial patterning of the disease. The research will integrate recorded data about COVID-19 cases sourced from the Office for National Statistics, with data from the Centre for Thriving Places to explain causal relationships. Additionally, interviews will be conducted with a stratified random sample of participants across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to project aspects of family and community social capital that will prove important for recovery.