King's College London

The overall aim of CORSAIR was to measure public perceptions (e.g. whether coronavirus is a serious illness), beliefs/attitudes (e.g. whether it is important not to infect other people), and behaviours (e.g. handwashing) as relevant to COVID-19.

We assessed demographic (population group) and attitudinal (beliefs, worries) factors associated with behaviours, to identify who might be more likely to catch and spread COVID-19, and whether official communications could be tailored to help reduce these risks. We also analysed how behaviours and beliefs changed over time, in tandem with changes to official communications, to identify the impact of different communications.

CORSAIR was conducted over 73 iterations of a cross-sectional online survey based on FluTEST, a survey template that had been developed and then ‘hibernated’ in 2012 in case of a future pandemic. The surveys were conducted using quotas based on age, sex and region. Participants were aged 16 years or over, and lived in the UK.

Each wave collected data from around 2,000 UK respondents over the course of two to three days. In total, approximately 149,600 responses were collected. Further detail about the methods is available for each wave/output. 

Public attitudes and behaviours changed over time, influenced by changes to official communications. Findings varied between waves. CORSAIR identified factors associated with: symptom recognition; handwashing; testing, tracing, and self-isolating; adherence to social mixing guidance; social distancing; ventilation; and other personal protective behaviours.

It also identified factors associated with vaccine hesitancy, and changes in public attitudes and beliefs about different health information sources over time. Finally, it measured the prevalence of reported symptoms, and changes in people’s psychological wellbeing and quality of life.

As intended, the DHSC and Cabinet Office communications teams were the primary ‘customers’ for CORSAIR outputs throughout the activation period. However, because we had close links to several Government advisory groups, we were also able to identify and respond to needs for data analyses from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviour (SPI-B), the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, NHS England and NHSX.

Key results were also disseminated to the public through engagement with the media. This included coverage in The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mail, Telegraph and Washington Post and interviews with our team on Sky News, Today, BBC Radio 5 and LBC, among others.

Data from CORSAIR were cited in dozens of reports produced by SAGE and SPI-B. Analyses by the team informed, among other things:

• The finding by SAGE on 23 March 2020 that the then voluntary arrangements in place to reduce the spread of infection left room for improvement, contributing to the evidence base behind the decision that the UK would enter a full, compulsory lockdown.
• The SAGE-endorsed SPI-B paper on improving rates of adherence to self-isolation (17 September 2020), which in turn informed the Government’s decision to offer £500 grants to those on low incomes who were asked to self-isolate.
• Routine briefings to UKHSA-led National Covid Response Centre Situational Awareness Meetings (NCRC SAM) across a range of policy and operational areas, including on symptom attribution/recognition, self-isolation adherence, vaccination uptake and public perceptions and behavioural intentions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.