Since early 2020 there have been thousands of papers, reports, analyses, podcasts and media articles documenting each stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as many hundreds of reviews, opinions, discussion pieces and commentaries interpreting the impacts of this genuinely unprecedented (at least in terms of the societal response) global event. It might be reasonable to wonder what we can learn from hearing more about people’s Covid experiences. Yet we are confident that the articles in this special issue, based on comparative analyses of qualitative interview research in (up to) eight countries, make a unique and timely contribution. The collection of articles is possible due to, and built on, a longstanding international collaboration of qualitative researchers whose teams focus on narrated experiences of health and illness. Beyond the insights from the individual papers – which we review briefly below – this special issue also seeks to advance the field of cross-country qualitative research, including by illuminating the specific processes and challenges involved in such endeavors.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2024.100396