Richard Amlôt
Biographic Data
| ID | 1851130 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Richard Amlôt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Richard |
| FAMILY NAME | Amlôt |
| SIGNATURE | AMLÔT R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Public Health England |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3481-6588 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 50 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 39 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 50 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Applying the Social Identity Approach to Leadership to Online Support Groups for Long Covid
Previous research has shown that online support groups for Long Covid may improve group members' wellbeing, but there is limited evidence on the role of group moderators in influencing such outcomes. Applying the social identity approach to leadership, this study sought to understand the extent to which group moderators display identity leadership and their role in influencing group members' health and wellbeing. Interviews were conducted with 10…
Evaluation of psychology-based training for improving interoperability in the emergency services
Recent research highlights the need for a psychological understanding of interoperability in multi-agency emergency response to address ongoing issues and prevent future problems. We developed a psychology-based training to improve interoperability using theory and evidence from the Social Identity Approach. We evaluated its effectiveness and optimal delivery method with 65 emergency responders from UK Police ( N =8), Fire and Rescue ( N =12), an…
Engaging civil society in CBRNe field training exercises
I definitely cannot afford to be feeling poorly if there’s no need to be”
The factors affecting antiviral uptake were multifaceted. Public health interventions should prioritise those at most risk and address multiple components of behaviour, such as advising how to manage side effects, addressing concerns about long-term usage and providing convenient access to antivirals for those at most risk
How the Social Identity Approach Can Improve Interoperability in Multi‐Agency Emergency Response Teams
Major incident inquiries and research highlight persistent problems in interoperability. Evidence points to failures in the ability of responders from different organisations to work effectively together, which hinders collaborative efforts. Recently, researchers have argued that one reason why collaboration problems exist when different teams are required to work together is due to multiple identities within the overarching team. Whilst this per…
Organisational learning from the public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic
System learning from major incidents is essential for enhancing preparedness for responding to future adverse events. Sharing learning not only stimulates further improvements, preventing the repetition of mistakes, but may also promote collaboration and the adoption of evidenced-based best practises. As part of a qualitative interview study designed to explore lessons learned, this paper describes the experiences and perspectives of 30 staff fro…
Delivering extreme event preparedness education in schools
Engagement in rapid public health research among young people from underserved communities
This research explored barriers to engagement in rapid public health co-production. Working with communities to co-produce rapid recruitment and research procedures to suit the needs and the context in which young people live is necessary
Online support groups, social identity, and the health and wellbeing of adults with Long Covid
As many individuals with Long Covid are left without formal support, they have turned to online support groups for help. In a pre‐registered study, interviews were carried out with 21 adults with Long Covid to explore experiences of using online support groups, to understand whether participants felt these experiences influenced their health and wellbeing, and to identify whether group members developed a shared social identity. The reported bene…
Exploring the relationship between shared identity and interoperability
Previous research has shown ongoing difficulties between Police, Fire and Rescue, and Ambulance Service responders during multi-agency emergencies. Recently, researchers have used the Social Identity Approach to gain insight into these challenges, offering a psychological framework for understanding relations within and between response organisations. This study builds upon previous work by engaging responders from the emergency services in six d…
Applying machine-learning to rapidly analyze large qualitative text datasets to inform the Covid-19 pandemic response
Introduction: Machine-assisted topic analysis (MATA) uses artificial intelligence methods to help qualitative researchers analyze large datasets. This is useful for researchers to rapidly update healthcare interventions during changing healthcare contexts, such as a pandemic. We examined the potential to support healthcare interventions by comparing MATA with "human-only" thematic analysis techniques on the same dataset (1,472 user responses from…
The Agile Co-production and Evaluation framework for developing public health interventions, messaging and guidance
A lesson identified from the COVID-19 pandemic is that we need to extend existing best practice for intervention development. In particular, we need to integrate (a) state-of-the-art methods of rapidly coproducing public health interventions and messaging to support all population groups to protect themselves and their communities with (b) methods of rapidly evaluating co-produced interventions to determine which are acceptable and effective. Thi…
The role of pre-incident information and responder communication in effective management of casualties, including members of vulnerable groups, during a decontamination field exercise
Knowledge of Self-Isolation Rules in the UK for Those Who Have Symptoms of Covid-19
Approximately 63% of UK adults between November 2020 and February 2022 appeared to know the main rules regarding self-isolation if symptomatic with COVID-19. Knowledge was lower in younger than older people, men than women, those living in England compared with Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and those living in more deprived areas
Mpox knowledge, behaviours and barriers to public health measures among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in the UK
There are differential needs, preferences, and experiences of GBMSM that limit the acceptability of some mitigation and prevention measures. Future public health interventions and campaigns should be co-designed in consultation with key groups and communities to ensure greater acceptability and credibility in different contexts and communities
Understanding adherence to self-isolation in the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in England
Understanding adherence to isolation and associated reasoning during the early stages of the pandemic is essential to pandemic preparedness for future emerging infectious disease outbreaks. Individuals make complex decisions around adherence by calibrating transmission risks, therefore treating adherence as binary should be avoided
Advancing a social identity perspective on interoperability in the emergency services
Previous research shows there are persistent challenges with multi-agency response centring on problems of communication and coordination. The Social Identity Approach provides an important psychological framework for analysing relations within and between groups which can be used to understand why challenges in multi-agency response occur, and what can be done to prevent them re-occurring in the future. To explore this issue, we conducted semi-s…
Engagement with protective behaviours in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic
Engagement with protective behaviours increased at the start of the pandemic and has remained high since. The greatest variations in behaviour reflected changes to Government rules. Despite the duration of restrictions, people have continued to adopt personal protective behaviours that were intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19
A qualitative process analysis of daily contact testing as an alternative to self-isolation following close contact with a confirmed carrier of Sars-CoV-2
Participants in this study viewed DCT as a sensible, feasible, and welcome means of avoiding unnecessary self-isolation. Although negative LFTs provided reassurance, most people still restricted their activity as recommended. DCT was also highly valued by those in vulnerable households as a means of providing reassurance of the absence of infection and as an important means of detecting infection and prompting self-isolation when necessary
Location, location, location
The results indicated that the existing configuration of the UK's vaccination programme was well-placed to deliver vaccines to 18-29-year-olds; however, some adjustments might enhance acceptance. Local pharmacies were not preferred; long travel times were a disincentive but close proximity (0-15 min from one's premises) was not necessary; and either the 'NHS' or 'Your GP' would serve as adequate invitation sources. This research informed COVID-19…
Exploring the impact of shielding advice on the wellbeing of individuals identified as clinically extremely vulnerable amid the Covid-19 pandemic
This research highlights the difficulties in providing generic messaging that is applicable and appropriate given the diversity of individuals identified as CEV and the importance of sharing tailored and timely advice to inform shielding decisions. Providing messages that reinforce self-determined action and assistance from support services could reduce the negative impact of shielding on mental health and feelings of social isolation
Acceptability of, and barriers and facilitators to, a pilot physical health service for people who inject drugs
Covid-19 vaccination intention in the UK
To investigate factors associated with intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,500 UK adults, recruited from an existing online research panel. Data were collected between 14th and 17th July 2020. We used linear regression analyses to investigate associations between intention to be vaccinated for COVID-19 "when a vaccine becomes available to you" and sociodemographic factors, previous influenza vacc…
Adapting Behavioral Interventions for a Changing Public Health Context
Background: A rigorous approach is needed to inform rapid adaptation and optimisation of behavioral interventions in evolving public health contexts, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. This helps ensure that interventions are relevant, persuasive, and feasible while remaining evidence-based. This paper provides a set of iterative methods to rapidly adapt and optimize an intervention during implementation. These methods are demonstrated through the ex…
Engagement With Daily Testing Instead of Self-Isolating in Contacts of Confirmed Cases of Sars-CoV-2
Introduction: In December 2020 and January 2021 Public Health England (PHE) with NHS Test and Trace conducted a study to explore the feasibility and acceptability of daily testing as an alternative to self-isolation following close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. This qualitative paper aims to identify factors influencing uptake among those offered daily testing, and the subsequent impact on behaviour. Methods: We conducted in-depth inter…
Emergent social identities in a flood
Although the mobilization of pre‐existing networks is crucial in psychosocial resilience in disasters, shared identities can also emerge in the absence of such previous bonds, due to survivors sharing a sense of common fate. Common fate seems to operate in sudden‐impact disasters (e.g., bombings), but to our knowledge, no research has explored social identity processes in “rising‐tide” incidents. We interviewed an opportunity sample of 17 residen…
Applying principles of behaviour change to reduce Sars-CoV-2 transmission
Harnessing behavioural science in public health campaigns to maintain ‘social distancing’ in response to the Covid-19 pandemic
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), like Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is an infection arising from a coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in recent times in terms of the global spread of infection and the resultant morbidity, mortality and burden on health systems. In the absence of a vaccine, reducing transmission of the COVID-19 virus requires rapid and extensive behaviour…
Exploring the relationship between shared identity and interoperability
Previous research has shown ongoing difficulties between Police, Fire and Rescue, and Ambulance Service responders during multi-agency emergencies. Recently, researchers have used the Social Identity Approach to gain insight into these challenges, offering a psychological framework for understanding relations within and between response organisations. This study builds upon previous work by engaging responders from the emergency services in six d…
Public perceptions, anxiety, and behaviour change in relation to the swine flu outbreak
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether perceptions of the swine flu outbreak predicted changes in behaviour among members of the public in England, Scotland, and Wales. DESIGN: Cross sectional telephone survey using random digit dialling. SETTING: Interviews by telephone between 8 and 12 May. PARTICIPANTS: 997 adults aged 18 or more who had heard of swine flu and spoke English. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Recommended change in behaviour (increases in handwashin…
Reassuring and managing patients with concerns about swine flu
Future major incidents involving other forms of chemical, biological or radiological hazards may also cause large numbers of unexposed people to seek health advice. Our data suggest that providing telephone triage and information is helpful in such instances, particularly where advice can be given via a trusted, pre-existing service
Psychosocial impact of the summer 2007 floods in England
The psychosocial and mental health impact of flooding is a growing public health concern and improved strategies for minimising disruption to essential services and financial worries need to be built in to emergency preparedness and response systems. Public Health Agencies should address the underlying predictors of adverse psychosocial and mental health when providing information and advice to people who are or are likely to be affected by flood…
Modelling Mass Casualty Decontamination Systems Informed by Field Exercise Data
In the event of a large-scale chemical release in the UK decontamination of ambulant casualties would be undertaken by the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS). The aim of this study was to track the movement of volunteer casualties at two mass decontamination field exercises using passive Radio Frequency Identification tags and detection mats that were placed at pre-defined locations. The exercise data were then used to inform a computer model of the F…
The effect of communication during mass decontamination
Purpose Reports from small‐scale incidents in which decontamination was conducted suggest that a successful communication strategy is vital in order to increase public compliance with, and reduce public anxiety about, decontamination. However, it has not been possible to examine public behaviour during large scale incidents involving decontamination. The aim of the research reported here was to examine the relationship between people's positive p…
Assessing Perceptions AbouT Hazardous Substances (PATHS)
How people perceive the nature of a hazardous substance may determine how they respond when potentially exposed to it. We tested a new Perceptions AbouT Hazardous Substances (PATHS) questionnaire. In Study 1 ( N = 21), we assessed the face validity of items concerning perceptions about eight properties of a hazardous substance. In Study 2 ( N = 2030), we tested the factor structure, reliability and validity of the PATHS questionnaire across four …
A systematic review of factors affecting vaccine uptake in young children
The English national cohort study of flooding and health
This study provides an insight into the impact of flooding on mental health, suggesting that the impacts of flooding are large, prolonged and extend beyond just those whose homes are flooded
Emergent social identities in a flood
Although the mobilization of pre‐existing networks is crucial in psychosocial resilience in disasters, shared identities can also emerge in the absence of such previous bonds, due to survivors sharing a sense of common fate. Common fate seems to operate in sudden‐impact disasters (e.g., bombings), but to our knowledge, no research has explored social identity processes in “rising‐tide” incidents. We interviewed an opportunity sample of 17 residen…
A Systematic, Thematic Review of Social and Occupational Factors Associated With Psychological Outcomes in Healthcare Employees During an Infectious Disease Outbreak
OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic literature review to identify social and occupational factors affecting the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers involved in the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis. METHODS: Four literature databases were searched and data extracted from relevant papers. RESULTS: Eighteen thousand five papers were found and 22 included in the review. The psychological impact of SARS on employees appeared to…
The English National Cohort Study of Flooding and Health
This study shows a continuance of probable psychological morbidity at least two years following exposure to flooding. Commissioners and providers of health and social care services should be aware that the increased need in populations may be prolonged. Efforts to resolve persistent damage to homes may reduce the risk of probable psychological morbidity
Facilitating Collective Psychosocial Resilience in the Public in Emergencies
Accumulated evidence demonstrates the centrality of social psychology to the behaviour of members of the public as immediate responders in emergencies. Such public behaviour is a function of social psychological processes – in particular identities and norms. In addition, what the authorities and relevant professional groups assume about the social psychology of people in emergencies shapes policy and practice in preparedness, response and recove…
Protecting the psychological wellbeing of staff exposed to disaster or emergency at work
Organisations can take steps to reduce the psychological impact of disasters on employees. This could be done through provision of training workshops incorporating mental health education to reduce stigma, and team-building exercises to encourage supportive workplace relationships
Public perceptions of pre-incident information campaign materials for the initial response to a chemical incident
In the event of a hazardous chemical release incident in the UK, affected members of the public would undergo improvised and interim forms of decontamination (the ‘Initial Operational Response’ [IOR]). To enable members of the public to take recommended actions quickly, the Home Office and National CBRN Centre have developed the ‘Remove, Remove, Remove’ pre-incident information campaign. This is designed to raise awareness amongst a broad range o…
Endurance or decline of emergent groups following a flood disaster
Recommendations for improving public engagement with pre-incident information materials for initial response to a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) incident
The role of emergency preparedness exercises in the response to a mass casualty terrorist incident
Simulation exercises are an important part of emergency preparedness activities for the healthcare community but evidence of their impact on the response to real major incidents is limited. This project studied the impact of health emergency preparedness exercises (HEPEs) on the response to a mass casualty terrorist incident. The mixed methods study design was adopted comprising an on-line survey and follow up individual interviews. Participants …
The English National Cohort Study of Flooding & Health
Flooding can have severe long-lasting consequences on mental health in affected populations. If these problems are not identified and treated early, they may persist for years. Further research is necessary to develop and evaluate interventions to increase resilience in at risk populations and to ensure timely access to support services following flooding
Harnessing behavioural science in public health campaigns to maintain ‘social distancing’ in response to the Covid-19 pandemic
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), like Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is an infection arising from a coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in recent times in terms of the global spread of infection and the resultant morbidity, mortality and burden on health systems. In the absence of a vaccine, reducing transmission of the COVID-19 virus requires rapid and extensive behaviour…
Applying principles of behaviour change to reduce Sars-CoV-2 transmission
Covid-19 vaccination intention in the UK
To investigate factors associated with intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,500 UK adults, recruited from an existing online research panel. Data were collected between 14th and 17th July 2020. We used linear regression analyses to investigate associations between intention to be vaccinated for COVID-19 "when a vaccine becomes available to you" and sociodemographic factors, previous influenza vacc…
Adapting Behavioral Interventions for a Changing Public Health Context
Background: A rigorous approach is needed to inform rapid adaptation and optimisation of behavioral interventions in evolving public health contexts, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. This helps ensure that interventions are relevant, persuasive, and feasible while remaining evidence-based. This paper provides a set of iterative methods to rapidly adapt and optimize an intervention during implementation. These methods are demonstrated through the ex…
Engagement With Daily Testing Instead of Self-Isolating in Contacts of Confirmed Cases of Sars-CoV-2
Introduction: In December 2020 and January 2021 Public Health England (PHE) with NHS Test and Trace conducted a study to explore the feasibility and acceptability of daily testing as an alternative to self-isolation following close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. This qualitative paper aims to identify factors influencing uptake among those offered daily testing, and the subsequent impact on behaviour. Methods: We conducted in-depth inter…
Is My Cough a Cold or Covid? A Qualitative Study of Covid-19 Symptom Recognition and Attitudes Toward Testing in the UK
Objective: Key to reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the UK is increased use of the NHS Test and Trace (NHSTT) system. This study explored one of the main issues that determine whether people engage with NHSTT, how people understand symptoms that may indicate the presence of COVID-19 and that should trigger a request for a test. Methods: In this qualitative study, a series of semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 40 people (21 …
What components of emergency preparedness exercises improve healthcare practitioners’ emergency response learning
Emergency planning exercises are commonly used to test the capability of healthcare systems to respond to major incidents. However, limited research has examined whether these exercises improve response learning for staff and, if so, what components are vital for achieving this learning. This study assesses the impact of an exercise methodology commonly used to promote emergency preparedness in UK healthcare staff, Emergo Train System (ETS), on h…
Medicine (38 works) · Psychology (25 works) · Public health (22 works) · Nursing (21 works) · COVID-19 and Mental Health (16 works) · Disaster Response and Management (15 works) · Environmental health (15 works) · Political science (15 works) · Biostatistics (14 works) · Disease (14 works)