A new study is being conducted into how the pandemic has affected the recreational scuba diving community. Dr Christina Spence of the University of Plymouth has published a questionnaire asking divers ‘What factors are associated with [their] decision to return to scuba diving following the Covid-19 pandemic?’
Dr Spence – herself a diver of 15 years – has been working closely with the DDRC, and hopes to share her work in medical journals once the results are published. Although she has not personally suffered from Covid-19, her own diving had to be put on hiatus during the pandemic to to her increased commitments to the hospital where she works.
Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the UK and the world, however there is currently a very limited amount of field data regarding divers’ participation in recreational scuba diving during the pandemic. Dr Spence’s study will help to close this gap in knowledge by identifying how the UK’s lockdowns have affected the recreational scuba diving community by understanding what their normal diving habits were prior to the start of their pandemic, and how their approach to the risks inherent in scuba diving might have changed as a result.
The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and is totally anonymous. All divers are invited to reply, even if they have never had Covid-19. The survey will be available until the end of March at
https://plymouth.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/final-pilot-what-are-the-factors-that-influence-return-o-2
