The School of Psychology at NUI Galway will host hundreds of delegates at a European Health pyschology conference next week from 21-25 August.
750 people are expected to attend the 32nd Annual Conference of the European Health Psychology Society – the largest professional organisation of health psychologists in Europe with more than 600 members worldwide.
An event of this scale in Galway could benefit the local economy by almost €1 million.
NUIG successfully hosted the event in 2005 when more than 600 delegates attended the four-day conference.
Experts from around the world will meet and share their latest research findings on a range of topics in health psychology.
Subjects include the role of technology in changing behaviour, coping with chronic illness, and the impact of psychological and social stress on health.
The event will provide training workshops where delegates can update their research skills and will also highlight the leading role of NUIG’s School of Psychology in this field.
Keynote speakers include Professor Alex Rothman from the University of Minnesota in the US and Professor Molly Byrne from NUIG.
Professor Byrne has led research on the experience of young people living with Type 1 diabetes.
Her groundbreaking work directly involves the patients living with the condition as part of the team directing the research.
Professor Byrne will discuss how involving the patients and those who provide their care in research can help reduce the suffering caused by their conditions.
Dr Gerry Molloy, Chair of the local organising committee and Programme Director of the MSc in Health Psychology at NUIG, commented:
“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.”
The conference has received funding from Fáilte Ireland to support international promotion and the Health Research Board to support running this event.
For more information about the conference, follow @ehps2018 on Twitter or visit the conference website.
