Challenges Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Health, Health Behavior, Developments of Interventions and How to Cope - Evidences and Reflections from Health Psychology - Presented by Division 8, Health Psychology

Challenges Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Health, Health Behavior, Developments of Interventions and How to Cope - Evidences and Reflections from Health Psychology

Worldwide, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic initiated a crisis with massive effects on individuals, groups, organizations as well as health care and rehabilitation services and systems (McNeary et al., 2020). This crisis is not a short-term event, but will also have longer-term effects on the health and well-being of populations. Necessary adjustments due to hygiene and distance regulations include individual protective behaviors as well as organizational adaptions such as the reduction of group sizes and alternatives to conventional service provision, in particular digital services. How such required adaptions are perceived and accepted is decisive for their direct effect in terms of preventing the spread of the virus but also if and when restrictions can be relaxed. Systematic, timely research from different disciplinary perspectives into the pandemic and its consequences for individuals and society at large is necessary to better understand and mitigate the effects of the pandemic (Padala, 2020), and to ensure the effectiveness of interventions.

The aim of this webinar is to contribute new knowledge and understanding to guide the COVID-19 response, with a focus on psychological mechanisms related to health and well-being.

Prof. Dr. John de Wit will present data he collected on experiences of intimacy and sexuality among men who have sex with men during different COVID-19 periods. Prof. Dr. Urte Scholz will more broadly address determinants of protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in society. Prof. Dr. Yiqun Gan will take a clinical and health psychology perspective to deduct implications for digital interventions triggered by COVID-19. Prof. Dr. Sonia Lippke will share her data on perceived loneliness in the general public and discuss implications on trends and possibilities to cope with pandemics like COVID-19. A subsequent digital exchange enables the audience of this webinar to engage in a discussion of the various topics and their interrelation (e.g., intimacy-loneliness-clinical symptoms, sexuality-protective behavior-, physical distancing-digital interventions). The webinar will conclude with action items as well as lessons learnt.

Padala, P. R., Jendro, A. M., & Padala, K. P. (2020). Conducting clinical research during the COVID-19 pandemic: investigator and participant perspectives. JMIR Public Health Surveillance, 6, e18887.

McNeary, L., Maltser, S., Verduzco-Gutierrez, M. (2020). Navigating coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in physiatry: a CAN report for inpatient rehabilitation facilities. PM&R, 12, 512-515. doi:10.1002/pmrj.12369.

Presenters:

Dr. John de Wit
Interdisciplinary Social Science: Public Health
Utrecht University

Dr. Urte Scholz
Department of Psychology
University of Zurich 

Prof. Yiqun Gan
School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
Peking University, China

Prof. Dr. Sonia Lippke
Health Psychology & Behavioural Medicine
Jacobs University Bremen

Presented on October 7, 2020