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Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health
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Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health

Symposium: Insights into behavioral and policy challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic

On 18 Martch, the Social Sciences Centre for Health and Well-being and the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health organized an online symposium where three experts discussed the behavioral and policy challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The symposium reflects on how insights from the social and behavioural sciences can provide important contributions regarding how to align human behaviour. It consisted of three talks from different perspectives and a final panel discussion with the speakers.

Speakers

John Drury

John Drury

Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Sussex, specializes in the study of collective behavior. Among others, he studies how crowds respond to emergencies. John is among a group of independent social behaviour experts advising the government on how to help people adhere to Covid-19 interventions.

Topic: How have the public responded to the Covid-19 pandemic? Understanding the role of group processes.

Pontus Leander

Pontus Leander

Associate Professor of Organizational Psychology at the University of Groningen, studies people’s (implicit) motivations in shaping people's thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Pontus has set up a multinational collaborative study in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (PsyCorona) focusing on psychological factors that predict how people respond to the coronavirus and to the associated public health measures.

Topic: How does one study a pandemic in real-time?

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Michel Dückers

Professor by special appointment at the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen, program leader disasters and environmental threats at Nivel and scientific advisor at ARQ Knowledge Center Impact of Disasters and Crises. Michel studies the vulnerability of people in communities in the Netherlands and abroad during disasters and crises, most recently the corona crisis. He also advises governments on health research and aftercare in calamities.

Topic: Community engagement and decision-making during the Covid-19 pandemic – How the crisis exposed vulnerabilities in public health and governance

Last modified:24 March 2021 10.07 p.m.