The Covid-19 outbreak is now a major public health issue across Europe. EFPA, as the European umbrella organization for psychologists, would like to share some guidelines, best practices and possible actions for psychologists in its member associations. That’s why the new Psychologists’ Support Hub about Covid-19 crisis was born.
The Support Hub gives a single point of access to psychology resources for psychologists to use. The resources cover supporting individuals, families across the age span, local and national communities, and support for psychologists in their own professional practice. They are mainly in the language of the country concerned. Links to the World Health Organisation (WHO), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), European Agencies connected to the European Commission and country government guidance are also given.
As to EFPA’s involvement in the H-WORK project, Ole Tunold, Secretary general of EFPA explains: “Not being included in work life is a serious impediment to human mental and physical wellbeing. Sick leave and absenteeism cost society enormous amounts, both in expenses, but even more in lost value creation. The professional psychological community observe and lament that our science and services are routinely bypassed when decision makers seek solutions to society’s challenges. This holds particularly true when the challenges reside outside the narrow clinical field. With this backdrop, what a giant leap forward this EU project H-WORK then represents”.
He also points out: “This project signals so convincingly that the EU (finally) takes our profession seriously. And really has confidence enough to invest 4 million euros in this largely explorative endeavour to find solutions to the challenges in the science of psychology. The project is bold, but scientifically sound. It meticulously works through all the necessary stages: from fact finding, method development, testing, documenting, tool building, evaluation to final results. Results in terms of recommendations and toolkits for practical use which will be disseminated along with papers on lessons learned and new insights through a multitude of channels. The project focuses on preventive measures rather than repairs, to ensure lasting effects, sustainability and substantial financial savings. EFPA is very proud to be part of this ground breaking project in a consortium with 13 other partners of exceptional standard. I believe H-WORK will stimulate policy – and decision – makers to more readily seek solutions to society’s challenges in the science of human behaviour”.