King's College London
https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c3yw3qwzmygt/kings-college-london
Do British people still accept the lockdown?
When the lockdown first started in the UK in the final week of March there was widespread support for the measures aimed at controlling the coronavirus. But have attitudes changed or do people still support the ongoing restrictions?
The country will soon enter its sixth week of the greatest curbs on daily life since World War Two.
But many, according to the most recent polling data, say they would be uncomfortable leaving home even if the government ordered the lifting of the restrictions in a month's time.
Analysis of surveys conducted by King's College in London suggests there are three broad groups when it comes to lockdown: accepting, suffering and resisting.
Just under half of people - 48% - are characterised as accepting, following the rules and coping reasonably well. At 44%, slightly fewer say they are struggling, often losing sleep, feeling anxious or depressed, but still overwhelmingly trying to obey all the rules.
The remaining 9% are resistant to the lockdown, with many of those believing too much fuss is being made about the virus and admitting they are less likely to follow the restrictions.
Scientists at King's College London have opened up a new diagnostics lab to help the NHS process the many thousands of swab tests needed to help bring the coronavirus pandemic under control.
It is one of several new sites springing up to help health officials meet their target of testing 100,000 people a day and relieve pressure on the NHS.
Hundreds of volunteers affiliated to the university including PhD students, research assistants and post-doctoral students signed up "almost instantly", those leading the lab said.
The lab is also using a heat process to inactivate the samples before they are opened without compromising the test results meaning the team will not be put at risk of infection if they face shortages of personal protective equipment.
Dr Michael Malim, head of the School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at King's College London, said the lab was working to build "resilience and flexibility" into the testing process.
Covid-19 research appeals for more elderly supporters
Some of the UK's largest charities are to help the developers of a Covid-19 Symptom tracker app get the over-70s to use it.
So far more than 2.5 million participants have downloaded the NHS-endorsed app created by King's College London and health science company ZOE.
But app designers want more over-70s and people with pre-existing health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma, to sign up as they are considered most at risk from Covid-19.
Claire Steves, clinical senior lecturer at King's College London, said they would help developers "capture more data from people who may be less able to use an app".
Since the app was launched on March 24, the day after the nationwide lockdown was introduced, developers have found fewer older people logging in.
She said it was important to get the over-70s and those with pre-existing conditions more involved as Covid-19 symptoms may be different.
"They might present with other things, like a confusional state or maybe diarrhoea, abdominal symptoms.
"If we can really prove that and know that and share that with everybody then potentially that could be really important in reducing spread from the virus."
She said understanding such symptoms could also help with the tackling the presence of Covid-19 in care homes.
Division of Psychology & Systems Sciences
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/psychology-systems-sciences/about/departments/psychology
The Department of Psychology: at the forefront of research into clinical practice for over 60 years
Since the Department of Psychology was founded in 1950, it has carried on a distinguished programme of research, teaching and clinical practice, with a long-standing link with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. In 2004, the psychology sections of Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine merged with the Department, creating one of the world’s largest groupings of clinical and health psychologists. Today, Psychology is one of the largest departments in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.
The department offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. These include our Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (the UK’s oldest training programme which helped to establish the scientist/practitioner model that is now almost universal in the field), our MSc in Health Psychology, and BSc programmes (BSc Psychology, BSc Neuroscience with Psychology, and Intercalated BSc in Psychology). In addition, we are internationally renowned for our wide range of clinical training programmes for mental health professionals including diplomas and certificates in CBT Psychosis, Family & Early Intervention, high intensity Adult IAPT training, CYP IAPT (Children & Young People) training and IAPT for Long Term Conditions/Medically Unexplained Symptoms. These courses are made possible by the expertise of the staff within the department and elsewhere within the IoPPN and our close ties with our NHS partners, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and King’s College London NHS Foundation Trust. Many members of academic staff are qualified Clinical and Health Psychologists providing expert psychological services to our NHS partners are part of their work.
The Department’s research interests span a wide range of mental health disorders and physical health problems, including anxiety disorders, trauma, somatoform disorders, pain, psychosis, depression, antisocial personality, disorders in childhood and adolescence, emotion and personality, and neurodegeneration. In physical health, we work at the interface between physical health and mental health and wellbeing, focusing on the development and evaluation of new psychological treatments and on understanding the mechanisms that maintain psychological distress. Much of our past work has informed UK national treatment guidelines in mental and physical health. The breadth of research expertise has broadened considerably with the recruitment of ‘basic’ cognitive and social psychologists whose interests intersect with and extend our existing profile in translational and applied research