Research ‘Rounds’ Reporting Sheets

Research Round # and Topic for this Research Round: Round #1. Topic: How do people
react to disease?
Inquiry Question: How does disease impact society?
Subtopics:
Groups of people and their reactions to outbreaks of disease
Communities and how they are impacted by disease
How religions and races are conflicted by disease
Research Notes:
 Overreactions happens when a person becomes aware of a risk and takes precautions that
may be over-the-top and extravagant (Galea et Sandman, 2005).
 Having this reaction early introduces coping mechanisms to better help calm people
(Galea et Sandman, 2005).
 Hobbies and activities can help ease anxiety and fear to better cope with risks and
reactions (Galea et Sandman, 2005).
 Seeking information along with anxiety and fear are initial reactions to risks like
pandemics. Self-preservation is the main priority (Galea et Sandman, 2005).
 Helping others is a result of much effort that stems from gathering correct data (Galea et
Sandman, 2005).
 When people are forced to change their habits and activities, discussion of blame happens
when weaknesses and merits arise due to the risk growing out of proportion (Galea et
Sandman, 2005).
 When enough discussion takes place, casting blame is put into action against those who
are believed to have caused the risk (Galea et Sandman, 2005).
 After some time, adaptation to the risk happens (Galea et Sandman, 2005).
 People saw otherworldly creatures and thought that these creatures were the source of
pestilence by getting hit by them (Procopius, 2005).
 People tried to make these creatures go away through exorcism but that failed. In
sanctuaries, death was constant. They also thought that people calling out for them were
these same creatures, so they locked themselves up in their homes (Procopius, 2005).
 Some people didn’t get sick after having these visions and dreams (Procopius, 2005).
 People got fevers from everyday activities or when they were just waking up. There
weren’t any indications of the people falling ill beforehand, not by doctors or the people
themselves (Procopius, 2005).
 People who were burying and taking care of the dead and dying did not catch the disease.
For others, they caught the disease randomly and died quick (Procopius, 2005).
 People who were taking care of the dying were constantly fatigued. Others felt sad for
them because of the stress they went through, not because they were close to catching the
disease themselves (Procopius, 2005).
 Patients were forced back into beds by shoves and pulls after rolling out of bed and
rolling on the floor (Procopius, 2005).
 The plague lasted for four months, and the deadliest peaks happened in three months
(Procopius, 2005).
 Eventually, the daily death rates soared over ten thousand (Procopius, 2005).
 People attended their own family burials but put the corpses in other people's tombs by
sneaking or causing havoc. This soon led to chaos (Procopius, 2005).
 Because of the high amount of slave and worker deaths, people who were of higher
standing weren’t buried for days (Procopius, 2005).
 The emperor sent soldiers and money along with a referendarius who spent his own
money on burials about people who were forgotten or not cared about (Procopius, 2005).
 When all burial places were used up, people threw bodies in fortification towers. When
the towers were full, they put the roofs back on. Some of the towers fell (Procopius,
2005).
 The citizens were bothered by the smell of dead bodies made worse by the wind blowing
it (Procopius, 2005).
 Burial rites were ignored and put aside because there were too many people to bury.
Bodies were eventually thrown into the sea (Procopius, 2005).
 Different groups of people who previously hated each other set aside their differences to
bury the dead. They buried people who were total strangers to them (Procopius, 2005).
 People who lived scandalous and dishonourable lives now practiced religion not because
they became smart nor pious, but they learned decency out of importance (Procopius,
2005).
 Pandemics cause chaos, fear, anxiety, isolation, stereotypes, and bigotry (Bilal, Sarwer,
A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. U. 2020).
 When SARS-CoV-2 was spreading dramatically, lockdowns were initiated to slow it
down (Bilal et al, 2020).
 To prevent the spread of disease, public spaces and social distancing is put in place to
encourage people to stay home. This has dire consequences on the mental and social
aspects of society (Bilal et al, 2020).
 When self-isolation is enacted, mental health services are required by governments upon
the advice of professionals (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Older generations of people are more susceptible to disease due to vulnerable immune
systems or medical ailments. This causes physical distancing from other people like
family which in turn can cause stress and depression. Dependency on younger
generations for physical and mental health is disrupted when physical distancing is
enforced. This can be improved by wireless communications with cellphones or other
devices (Bilal et al, 2020).
 In the older generations, changes in resting and consumption habits along with negative
mood swings. Checking up on the elderly is commended by WHO (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Those who work directly with people afflicted with SARS-CoV-2 like doctors and nurses
are more vulnerable to mental health deterioration (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Negative affects can arise from social distancing and self isolation especially from
uncertainties, isolation, and restlessness (Bilal et al, 2020).
 They got rid of the disease and thought they were in the clear, so since the disease
traveled away so to say, they made a sudden return to their careless behavior from before
the disease, acting even worse than all the way back then by behaving with a greater lack
of moral than ever before. That show of selfishness and lack of moral was enough to
 make one believe that either accidentally, or through some higher power, the disease
chose only the worst people to spare, but that was shown in the future (Procopius, 2005).
 Few people were on the streets because they either stayed home or they were dead. Those
who did come out of their homes were carrying a dead person. The economy slowed
because people were dying, dead, and were attending to the dead, leaving little to no time
to work jobs. Starvation grew due to farmers being put out of work, causing riots. Some
starved to death before they died of plague. Due to the bubonic swellings, people couldn’t
wear cloaks, including the emperor (Procopius, 2005).
 Children and adults react to new and perhaps uncomfortable situations that can be
stressful in different ways (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Children, when separated from peers and normal learning environments, become curious
about their current situations, and will ask parents or guardians for explanations on them.
Oftentimes, stress can occur when deviation from normalcy becomes commonplace
which leads to the following in children:
-Rise in negative behaviour such as acting out
-Increased anxiety or melancholy
-Variances in consumption tendencies
(Bilal et al, 2020).
 Parents should be level-headed and attempt tending to children as best they can such as
keeping up to date with current situations and provide facts and information to children
that help in lessening irritating behaviours. Indoor activities and brain exercises are
recommended for bonding and wellness of both parents and children. Timetables can be
made for parents and children to have synced schedules (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Harmful outcomes for the frontline workers of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have been
the reduction of PPE and hospital equipment, an overwhelming quantity of patients,
reduction in medicine available, quarantine from peers and family, deaths of patients
and coworkers, and lengthy employment hours (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Short breaks are recommended as to help with coping and to prevent working
capacity from being affected (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Social distancing is still required from people recently released from quarantine due
to the disease’s unpredictable habits. People from different ages will respond
differently to this as being recently released from quarantine can also carry
stigmatization, which can cause mental health problems both in the short and long
runs (Bilal et al, 2020).
 Frontline workers may be ostracized and develop negative emotions from it due to
family or peers declining contact with them, fearing they may contract diseases even
if proven otherwise (Bilal et al, 2020).
 To prevent another spike in the pandemic, mental health of individuals throughout the
pandemic must be studied and analyzed. The importance of this is akin to the
disease’s symptoms, contagion trends, and regulation. Doing activities and exercises
with family members also helps to alleviate mental health symptoms (Bilal et al,
2020).
  Mental health campaigns are necessities in this pandemic (Bilal et al, 2020).
 People decide that immediate comfort is more important than long-term preventative
measures. Long-term consequences should be made aware (J.A. Boudreau, 2016).
 For a problem to become a problem in society, it must have a societal impact, meaning it
must also involve politics. Motivation to decrease problems has decreased due to future
uncertainties (J.A. Boudreau, 2016).
 For a risk (like a pandemic) to be taken seriously, the people involved in it must be taken
seriously as well. People only look at risks as severe if it will affect their lives (J.A.
Boudreau, 2016).

 For programs that are made to prevent and reduce the severity of a pandemic, they rely
on statistics and data and not on the unpredictable behaviour of humans which the
programs are for, meaning that it doesn’t account for outliers such as people who decide
to not follow the rules and guidelines for pandemics (J.A. Boudreau, 2016).
 People that don’t follow the rules and guidelines either don’t trust the people that make
them or because they feel dehumanized, with their personal beliefs ignored (J.A.
Boudreau, 2016).
Reference (in correct format):

Caesariensis, P. (2005, September 27). The Project Gutenberg Ebook, history of the wars, books
I and II (of 8), by procopius, translated by H. B. Dewing. The Project Gutenberg eBook of
History of the Wars, Books I and II (of 8), by Procopius. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16764/16764-h/16764-h.htm

Canada, P. H. A. of. (2016, October 6). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. Retrieved March 2,
2022, from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-
communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2016-42/ccdr-volume-42-10-october-6-
2016/ccdr-volume-42-10-october-6-2016-emerging-challenges-vector-borne-diseases-
cities-7.html

Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z.-U.-R. (2020, September). The coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic's impact on Mental Health. The International journal of health
planning and management. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7361582/

Sandman, P. M., & Galea, S. (n.d.). Nieman Guide to covering Pandemic flu: Crisis
communication: How do people react in a pandemic? Nieman Guide to Covering
Pandemic Flu | Crisis Communication | How Do People React in a Pandemic? Retrieved
March 2, 2022, from
https://nieman.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/pod-assets/microsites/
NiemanGuideToCoveringPandemicFlu/CrisisCommunication/
HowDoPeopleReactInAPandemic.aspx.html

What will be your focus in your next round and WHY (how will this help you to answer
your question)?
My next focus will be on how governments impact the spread of disease like the implementation
of quarantine and how political figures react to the advice of medical experts publicly. My
question is how disease impacts society, and society moves in the direction of governmental
politics most of the time. What I’ll be focusing on is how politics affect the mindsets of people
involved in the pandemic, and how governments handle risk-management systems for diseases.
This will also be dealing with how diseases are portrayed in the media along with governmental
decisions about them. How a pandemic or risk is portrayed to society reflects on how political
leaders will also act in regards to the pandemic.