Making Sense of Carbon Monoxide Exposure: the lived experience of survivors and understanding the experience of underserved communities.

For the November CORT lecture we were joined by Dr Julie Connolly for a fascinating and informative lecture on her research with carbon monoxide survivors.

When we consider carbon monoxide exposure, we usually listen to the official voice describing the situation and its effects. This can be the healthcare professional, the gas engineer, the emergency responder… What is often missed is the person who has experienced the exposure – it is sometimes forgotten that behind every incident is a human story.

This is particularly important for underserved communities. This is a term that covers (but is not exclusive to) people from particular communities, cultures, and ethnicities; people living with disabilities, chronic conditions and/or issues with mental health; people living in poverty; and veterans.

In many instances, it is not that people don’t have voices, or opinions or feelings – but that they are not heard.

Listening benefits these groups by identifying what they need in terms of prevention, awareness and rectifying any situation where CO may be a risk.

This is beneficial because we can not only reduce risk and harm from carbon monoxide exposure, but we can generate ideas about how community-identified issues can support funding, education and policymaking.

In this recorded lecture hear Dr Julie Connolly, from Liverpool John Moores University, discuss her vital work in this area.

Hear how she uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative research technique to amplify the voice of those who have experienced carbon monoxide exposure, what she has learned from her work, and how we can use her findings to improve how we understand and support those who have been affected by this preventable poison.