The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a stressful 2020 for many Australians, but there are lessons we can learn from these experiences to address future challenges, says USC psychology lecturer Dr Jacob Keech.

Dr Keech will share early insights from his current study in a free public webinar ‘Societal Implications of COVID-19’ on Thursday 12 November at 6pm, as part of USC’s ‘Research Unmasked’ series.

“We are conducting a longitudinal study into the stress and coping behaviours of people in the United States and Australia over four months during the pandemic,” Dr Keech said.

“Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic have differed between Australia and the United States and examining trends in stress and coping between countries can provide valuable information.”

Dr Keech will also share strategies for managing longer-term stress, and the benefits of people consciously changing their own mindset, based on his previous research.

Also on the panel will be Professor of Urban Design and Town Planning Claudia Baldwin, who will discuss how lessons from how we coped with the COVID-19 pandemic could inform how we face climate change challenges, and Dr Natalie Watson-Brown, who will discuss her research into changed driver behaviour during the pandemic lockdown period.

Event organiser Dr Gemma Read said that university researchers were playing a key role in using information gathered during the pandemic across multiple fields – from psychology to town planning – to prepare for the future.

“We don’t want to miss learning these lessons,” Dr Read said.

“The pandemic is likely to have far-reaching effects on our behaviour and the way we live, but what we can take from it is how we can be more prepared in future to deal with major stressors in future.”

People can register for the ‘Research Unmasked’ series usc.edu.au/research-unmasked