Neuropsychological underpinnings of mental health across lifespan: From the young to the old in the time of COVID-19 pandemic = 心理健康的神經心理學基礎: 2019冠狀病毒病大流行時期的年輕人到老年人
Project title
Neuropsychological underpinnings of mental health across lifespan: From the young to the old in the time of COVID-19 pandemic = 心理健康的神經心理學基礎: 2019冠狀病毒病大流行時期的年輕人到老年人
Principal Investigator
Department
Grant Awarding Body
Research Grants Council
Grant Type
Inter-Institutional Development Scheme (IIDS)
Project Code
UGC/IIDS15/H02/23
Amount awarded
HK$411,225
Funding Year
2023-2024
Duration of the Project
12 months
Status
On-going
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health of the general public, with both young and old individuals being put under severe psychological stress. The number of people seeking professional and psychiatric help is expected to increase which is increasing the financial burden incurred in healthcare systems (Marčinko et al., 2020). As the pandemic evolves, a growing amount of literature has reported on mental health and neuropsychological consequences across countries and age groups (Duan et al., 2020; Shevlin et al., 2020). For instance, recent studies (e.g., Ferrando et al., 2022) showed that COVID-19 has worsened the brain system and neuropsychological functions in those who were contracted, which leads to different mental health problems including mild cognitive impairment and depression. Moreover, increased stress and lack of social contact as well as limited basic resources (e.g., food) in the midst of the pandemic has also affected neural functions and mental health, which was unprecedented before the pandemic. It is hypothesized that the mental health consequences in COVID-19 survivors can be explained by the neuropsychological mechanism. In order to address the rising neuropsychological and mental health concerns, there is an emergent need for an investigation of the neuropsychological mechanisms pertaining to mental health problems, thereby helping develop post-pandemic mental health interventions.
To ameliorate the mental health and neuropsychological consequences as a result of the pandemic, it is crucial for all stakeholders in different sectors to make every effort to obtain a better understanding of the mental health implications for people across their lifespan. This proposed IIDS project will collaborate with different scholars who are experts in mental health, neuropsychology, and neuropsychiatry from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China, the United States, and New Zealand, and will also establish partnerships with different local institutions such as Tung Wah College and non-local universities such as the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. Team members and keynote speakers from different local and non-local institutions will be engaged in promoting the conference and invitation of presentations within and beyond their affiliated institutions to increase the engagement of each institution involved. Specifically, this project will organize a two-day international conference on the theme of the neuropsychological mechanism of mental health across lifespan in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-day international conference will include eight plenary lectures, four oral sessions, and two poster sessions. The plenary lectures and oral sessions will involve a blend of empirical investigations and evidence-based practices from different approaches to facilitate intellectual exchanges between scholars and practitioners across various disciplines, thereby obtaining a better understanding of the neuropsychological mechanism of mental health in the face of pandemic as well as the efficacy of mental health and neuro-based interventions from developmental perspectives. At the end of each plenary lecture and oral session, there will be a panel discussion that will focus on the future development of integrated research and practice in fostering mental health across cultures and lifespans during and after the pandemic. There will be a breakfast reception and a professional connect hour on each conference day as well as a post-conference dinner which helps strengthen the connections of local researchers and practitioners with the plenary speakers and international scholars to establish potential research collaborations for promoting neuropsychological well-being.
This proposed IIDS project will benefit local and overseas scholars, students, and practitioners across various disciplines by enhancing the knowledge and understanding of how to promote mental health and neuropsychological functions from a developmental perspective. Interdisciplinary insights will be generated from in-depth and ongoing intellectual exchanges during and after the conference, helping scholars and practitioners to collaboratively develop rigorous scientific interdisciplinary research and potentially neuro-based mental health interventions. Ultimately, these measures can help prevent future mental health problems in different age groups as well as relieve the financial burden that was incurred during the time of the pandemic.
To ameliorate the mental health and neuropsychological consequences as a result of the pandemic, it is crucial for all stakeholders in different sectors to make every effort to obtain a better understanding of the mental health implications for people across their lifespan. This proposed IIDS project will collaborate with different scholars who are experts in mental health, neuropsychology, and neuropsychiatry from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China, the United States, and New Zealand, and will also establish partnerships with different local institutions such as Tung Wah College and non-local universities such as the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. Team members and keynote speakers from different local and non-local institutions will be engaged in promoting the conference and invitation of presentations within and beyond their affiliated institutions to increase the engagement of each institution involved. Specifically, this project will organize a two-day international conference on the theme of the neuropsychological mechanism of mental health across lifespan in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-day international conference will include eight plenary lectures, four oral sessions, and two poster sessions. The plenary lectures and oral sessions will involve a blend of empirical investigations and evidence-based practices from different approaches to facilitate intellectual exchanges between scholars and practitioners across various disciplines, thereby obtaining a better understanding of the neuropsychological mechanism of mental health in the face of pandemic as well as the efficacy of mental health and neuro-based interventions from developmental perspectives. At the end of each plenary lecture and oral session, there will be a panel discussion that will focus on the future development of integrated research and practice in fostering mental health across cultures and lifespans during and after the pandemic. There will be a breakfast reception and a professional connect hour on each conference day as well as a post-conference dinner which helps strengthen the connections of local researchers and practitioners with the plenary speakers and international scholars to establish potential research collaborations for promoting neuropsychological well-being.
This proposed IIDS project will benefit local and overseas scholars, students, and practitioners across various disciplines by enhancing the knowledge and understanding of how to promote mental health and neuropsychological functions from a developmental perspective. Interdisciplinary insights will be generated from in-depth and ongoing intellectual exchanges during and after the conference, helping scholars and practitioners to collaboratively develop rigorous scientific interdisciplinary research and potentially neuro-based mental health interventions. Ultimately, these measures can help prevent future mental health problems in different age groups as well as relieve the financial burden that was incurred during the time of the pandemic.