Using qualitative online methods to evaluate community responses to Covid19

This case study considers moving health promotion evaluation practice online to allow the continuation of data gathering safely in Covid19 and the implications of this for all of those involved; researchers and participants alike. We outline the methods that we used to conduct a commissioned evaluation online because of the Covid19 restrictions imposed in England at the time of our study. Evaluation is an activity that remains central to health promotion practice because it is concerned with assessing whether interventions are effective (Green and South 2006). This evaluation focused upon qualitatively assessing the Third Sector and community response to Covid19 across one city in the North of England. We aimed to use a people centered approach to our data collection to explore the impacts and outcomes arising from small grants awarded to different communities (young people, ethnically diverse groups, older people, Travelers, men) by capturing the importance of service user experiences in our work. We learned to be flexible, to consider the importance of offering a variety of mechanisms to facilitate participant involvement and to expand our ethical considerations because of the implications of online data gathering.