Our scientists and the corona crisis

Researchers from the UG are sharing their knowledge and doing extensive research into COVID-19 and the corona crisis from many different angles. Here is a selection of articles about recent research.
Visit Aletta Jacobs School of public health for their COVID-19 blogs

Impact of COVID pandemic on surgical care in the Netherlands identified

08 september 2022 - To meet the increased demand for ICU capacity for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic, hospitals were forced to downscale regular healthcare. This led to major disruption of regular healthcare, which also affected patients who did not have COVID-19. It is becoming increasingly clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of healthcare, whereby surgical care is one of the hardest hit sectors.

The Dutch COVIDSurg Collaborative study group, comprising various surgeons from different hospitals in the Netherlands, studied the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands has had on eight different surgical disciplines.
Read more about the findings of the study group

The Future of Blockbuster Exhibitions After the Covid-19 Crisis

1 April 2022 - University College Groningen's researcher Marline Wilders has recently published an article in Museum International on the consequences of the pandemic on the museum sector.

"The article deals with the long-known vulnerability of the blockbuster exhibition business model, which is defined as an exhibition that receives major loans, aims to attract a large body of visitors and uses marketing methods to achieve this. Also, we addressed the extent – and for which types of museums – it will continue to be feasible to organise blockbusters in a post-Covid era. Based on the data, conclusions were drawn regarding the viability of future blockbusters in different types of museums in the Netherlands."
Read 'The Future of Blockbuster Exhibitions After the Covid-19 Crisis: The Case of the Dutch Museum Sector'

Students and wellbeing: the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic (video)

21 March 2022 - Dr Bertus Jeronimus, developmental psychologist at the UG, researches the emotional and psychological wellbeing of young people and worries about this generation. Developing a personality is crucial at a young age, but it is hard to do so without having social activities. Many students suffered from loneliness and low spirits as a result of the lockdowns and the lack of social activities. According to Jeronimus, it is important to pay close attention to their wellbeing in the time to come.
Read more about student wellbeing and watch the video

Senior staff members are better able to cope with the pandemic than junior staff members

07 February 2022 - The amount of resilience that University staff members have demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic differs remarkably between categories, according to a study among University of Groningen staff by the faculties of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Economics and Business, and by the Health, Safety & Sustainability Office (AMD) of the UG. The research focused on the relationship between age, resilience, task requirements and resources, and self-regulation among 1,715 University staff members during the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021.

The general conclusion is that involuntarily working from home and teleworking during the pandemic had less negative effects on older than on younger staff. This was closely related to, on the one hand, a better work situation in terms of job security, facilities and equipment, and information channels and, on the other, better self-regulation when it comes to e.g. finding a good balance between work and private life or seeing the positive sides of a crisis.
Read more