Experiences of the Hardest Hit during the COVID-19 Pandemic: COVID-19 Changescapes of Recovery: Merkinch and South Kessok

This is one of the four case studies carried out in qualitative research across the Highlands and Islands to examine the experiences for some of the hardest hit people in the region. The project is led by Vicky Johnson from Inverness College UHI and Rosalynd Bryce from Perth College UHI in collaboration with Donna Heddle from Orkney College UHI, Steve Taylor from West Highlands UHI and Magnus Davidson from North Highlands UHI. This work was funded by the Scottish Funding Council Uplift Fund.
The research has been co-constructed in each of the four sites, in Inverness, Wester Ross, Caithness and Orkney, with local partners embedded in the sites selected. These local partners have then worked with academic leads from UHI and voluntary teams where possible. In South Kessock and Merkinch the local partner leading the research from the community worked initially to gain advice on who to sample from the Community Panel. The research was then carried out by the Manager of Merkinch Partnership with support from the team at Inverness College UHI.
The aim of the project is to understand the impacts of Covid-19 and influence strategies for recovery through systematic community driven research, including understanding individual/group support and actions raised in communities and providing evidence to change policy and practice regionally.
The team in Merkinch and South Kessock worked from March to July 2021 to achieve the following objectives. To:
• Implement community-driven research which seeks to understand landscapes of change and the actions taken in response to the global coronavirus pandemic.
• Capture this experience as a case study for that area/site.
• Influence policy and practice locally and regionally with community perspectives/ evidence about landscapes of change and covid recovery.
This report is intended for use locally and regionally to go alongside a cross-case report that will provide the analysis across the highlands and islands through the voices of local residents. This in-depth qualitative research can help to understand the complexity of the negative and positive experiences, how these differ with geographies, inequalities and support, and what actions are prioritised by local people who are hardest hit and local volunteers and service providers as we emerge from the pandemic.
This report sets the scene with some of the key indicators of deprivation and the context in which people in Merkinch and South Kessock are living. The research shows a strong sense of community in the area but that there are issues that can only be understood more fully through in-depth research that seeks to understand the everyday lived realities of the hardest hit during the pandemic.