The pandemic has had a widespread effect on our community
The University of Rhode Island Academic Health Collaborative and Interprofessional Education and Practice Initiative will again host a series of virtual panel discussions examining the COVID-19 effect.
The discussions will
focus on the mental and behavioral health issues that have become more visible
and acute during the past year and a half; the impact of COVID on children; and
the long-term effects of the disease for many who have been ill during the
pandemic.
The health collaborative and the education and practice initiative
have developed the series for students and the public, with the goal of
highlighting the importance of interprofessional collaboration in health care,
the promotion of inter-agency knowledge and engagement across health and social
service organizations, and the importance of public health in improving
community health. The panels will include faculty and alumni from URI, and
leaders from community-based organizations.
The first discussion, scheduled for Oct. 6, will examine “The Pandemic’s Epidemic: The Crisis in Mental and Behavioral Health.” Overdoses and overdose deaths have increased as many people have turned to substance use to manage the challenges of an abruptly limited lifestyle. Rates of depression and anxiety have risen dramatically, while resources to meet their needs have been limited.
Why did this happen, and how do health
professionals bring clinical and community-based services to the growing number
of people coping with these challenges. Health and education professionals
serving as panel members are:
Anita Jacobson, PharmD. ‘98, clinical professor, URI College of Pharmacy, Moderator.
Trudy-Ann Gayle, Ph.D. ‘12, licensed
clinical psychologist, Life Matters Psychological Services.
Hector Lopez-Vergara, Ph.D., assistant
professor, psychology, URI College of Health Sciences
Jeffrey Bratberg, PharmD, Fellow of the
American Pharmacists Association, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice, URI
College of Pharmacy
Munirat Adebimpe, nurse practitioner, Butler
Hospital
Jonathan Goyer, director, RI Recovery Friendly
Workplaces Initiative
The second installment, “The COVID Kids,” on
Oct. 20, will explore how this generation of children will be defined by its
COVID experience — online school (for those with adequate wifi), masks, limited
social and recreational activities, COVID illness, and death in the immediate
family. What has this experience meant to the health and well-being of our
children? What will be the long-term impact on health of fewer childhood
vaccines, growing rates of obesity, and social isolation?
The final discussion, “It Takes a Village: Managing
COVID as a Team,” on Nov. 3, will examine the complexity of
long-haul COVID and the role of the interprofessional team in meeting those
complex needs. How were preexisting chronic conditions exacerbated by COVID,
and how will people manage new chronic illnesses in addition to the ones they
already had? Effective interprofessional community-based primary care in the
management of complex chronic diseases will be presented as a blueprint for
supporting patients.
For more information and to register for the panel discussions,
visit uri.edu/ahc/stories.
