Pandemic Unmasked is a short series of podcasts by the British Embassy The Hague reflecting on the Covid-19 pandemic that started more than one year ago. This episode, host Andy Clark talks to Jet Bussemaker, chair of the Council for Public Health and Society in the Netherlands and Professor at Leiden University, and Richard Bentall, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sheffield. They discuss the impact of the pandemic on young people.
From the research that is available now, we know that young people are amongst the groups who’s mental health is most affected as a consequence of the pandemic. What lessons have we learned so far and what can governments do to support them better during this difficult time? Both guests also reflect on the role of fake news during this crisis.
Since the focus in this episode is on youth, we also hear from students from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. They share how the pandemic and the measures have affected them.
Jet Bussemaker is chair of the Council for Public Health & Society, an independent advisory body to the Dutch government. She is also a Professor of Science, Policy, Social Impact and Healthcare at Leiden University since 1 July 2018. She has served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science from 5 November 2012 to 26 October 2017. Publications of the Council for Public Health and Society on the Covid-19 pandemic can be found here (in Dutch).
Richard Bentall is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sheffield and has previously held chairs at Liverpool University, Manchester University and Bangor University. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the British Academy. His research interests have mainly focused on psychosis. Most recently, he has been leading a project measuring the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK population. This study can be found here.