August NUI Galway to Host Major International Health Psychology Conference

NUI Galway’s School of Psychology will host the 32nd Annual Conference of the European Health Psychology Society next week from 21-25 August. The European Health Psychology Society is the largest professional organisation of health psychologists in Europe with more than 600 members worldwide and 750 delegates will attend.

Hosting an event of this scale in Galway is estimated to benefit the local economy by almost €1 million with funding from Fáilte Ireland to support international promotion and the Health Research Board to support the running of this event. NUI Galway successfully hosted the event in 2005 when more than 600 delegates attended the four-day conference.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Health Psychology Across the Lifespan: Uniting Research, Practice and Policy’. Experts from around the world will meet and share their latest research findings on a range of established and emerging topics in health psychology research including: the role of technology in changing health relevant behaviour; coping with chronic illness; the impact of psychological and social stress on health; and how behavioural science can inform how healthcare is delivered. The event will also provide an extensive programme of training workshops where delegates can update their knowledge and skills in research and will also highlight the leading role that the School of Psychology in NUI Galway plays in research and practice relating to psychological and behavioural processes in health, illness and healthcare.

Keynote speakers will include Professor Alex Rothman from the University of Minnesota in the US and Professor Molly Byrne from NUI Galway who will speak about the role of patients and the public in informing this research.

Professor Molly Byrne has led research on the experience of young people living with Type 1 diabetes. In this work young adults living with the condition are involved as part of the team directing research on this topic. Professor Byrne will discuss how involving those who live with chronic health problems and those who directly provide care for them is often essential for producing research that has impact on reducing the suffering caused by these conditions.

Dr Gerry Molloy, Chair of the local organising committee and Programme Director of the MSc in Health Psychology at NUI Galway, said: “Being awarded this major international event for the second time reflects the high regard in which the Health Psychology team at NUI Galway are held. Many of our colleagues here in Galway are international leaders in major global health challenges such as the psychological aspects of chronic pain, living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and long-term medication taking. The growth of Health Psychology at the University over last 15 years has meant that we are now one of the leading centres in this area in Europe, and hosting this major conference will help consolidate this position.”

To stay informed about the conference, follow @ehps2018 or search for #ehps2018 on Twitter, or visit the conference website www.ehps2018.net.   

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