Lu Lin gives online lecture on the mental health of children amid COVID-19
Peking: As COVID-19 razes and ransacks the world, many countries have adopted a series of preventive measures, such as restricting travel and postponing the opening of schools, affecting the usual routines and learning habits of children and adolescents, who have thus been subjected to greater psychological pressure. Promoting the mental health of children and adolescents has become one of the key tasks in the global fight against the pandemic.
On May 6, 2020, Lu Lin, president of the Peking University Sixth Hospital, was invited by Maudsley Hospital in the UK to hold an online lecture on strategies to protect the mental health of children and adolescents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the lecture, Lu Lin introduced the mental disorders experienced by children and adolescents during the pandemic and analyzed the impact of different measures, such as lockdowns, the postponement of school reopening and remote learning, on their psychology. In addition, Lu Lin advocated for the establishment of a global mental health epidemic prevention system. Through effective cooperation among multiple disciplines, departments, countries and regions, the mental health of children and adolescents can be jointly improved.
Maudsley Hospital, which is affiliated to King’s College London, is the largest mental health institution in the UK. Established in 1403, it is one of the oldest hospitals of the country. It has a community mental health prevention and control institution and psychiatry research department with rich experience in the field of mental health. At the same time, it is also the largest mental health training institution in Britain and the best mental hospital recommended by the National Health Service. This seminar manifests the eagerness of Chinese mental health workers in supporting global anti-pandemic efforts and the rising international influence of China’s mental health sector, and marks the deepening cooperation between China and the UK in this medical field.