Disseminating research on COVID-19 impact on health
UCD School of Psychology Virtual Conference 2021
Disseminating research on the impact of COVID-19 on health and well-being
On June 18th the Health, Well-Being and Resilience research group organized a virtual conference to disseminate research on the psychological well-being of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global event affecting every child and every adult in one way or another, while continually emerging evidence shows that it has already had an impact on global mental health and well-being. Researchers from the School of Psychology timely responded to this public mental health call for action by designing and implementing rigorous research with the aim of generating valuable evidence with implications for every aspect of psychological health and well-being. The purpose of this conference was to present, report and communicate this wealth of research generated across all levels of our school. We also wished to bring together researchers working on this area to facilitate networking and knowledge sharing.
Organising committee
Dr Niki Nearchou (Chair)
Dr Sonya Deschenes (Co-Chair)
Amy McInerney
Alison Stapleton
Keynote: [(opens in a new window)video]
Drawing from game-design, Dr. Max Birk investigates avatar customization as a game-based motivational design strategy in three studies and shows that avatar customization increases motivation over time and in the moment of use, suggesting that avatar customization is a viable strategy to address the engagement barrier that thwarts the efficacy of technology-enabled services for health.
Oral presentation session 2 [(opens in a new window)video]
This session brings together research investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people's mental health including adolescents and young adults as well as young people living with chronic health conditions.
Oral presentation session 2 [(opens in a new window)video]
This session brings together research examining the effectiveness of interventions and the impact of loneliness on mental health during the pandemic. It also presents research on exploring the role of health beliefs in vaccination hesitancy and adherence to guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.