AFEdemy Interview | STEP_UP NEWSLETTER: MAY 2022

Q: Why did you initiate/join the STEP_UP project?

A: Covid-19 dominated the news for almost two years. Experts in the media did not stop talking about the development of the virus and the forecasts of new varieties. At the same time, we were confronted with casualties, especially under older adults, preventive measures and lockdowns, shortages of clinical beds and medical devices and discussions about yes or no to the usage of face masks. As ordinary citizen it is sometimes hard to follow what is right or wrong to do. By joining the STEP_UP project we aimed to learn and transfer more knowledge on Covid-19 and its potential measures to ordinary people like ourselves. To develop this learning material in an attractive manual and an online educational game are outcomes we most welcome.

Q: What did you like most thus far in the project? Why?

It is hard to choose one thing that we like most out of many, such as the collaboration in the team, the splendid coordinatorship of SHINE 2Europe, the making of the scenes for the game and the collection of measures. One of the most pleasant outcomes of the project is that we were able to assign a new employee who is of great added value to our company.

Q: What is the most important thing you learned or take away from the project for you thus far? Why?

The most important thing that we learned is to find the right balance between combating the virus and maintaining the happiness of the population, in preventive measures such as organising total lockdowns against the human need to meet each other. Recently we heard in the Dutch news that the latest lockdown in The Netherlands (December 2021/January 2022) had an enormous impact on younger people. 20% of younger people between 12 and 25 years were seriously thinking of suicide. Boys/young men were more thinking of suicide than girls/young women. Younger adults in lower education and living independently were more vulnerable. What the impact in the longer term is on this population group is hard to predict. It is crucial to keep an eye on both social and clinical consequences when you take measures, that is the lesson learned.

Q: What are the next steps you will work on in the project?

Next steps of our work are the testing of the online educational game and the finalisation of the manual on social and policy interventions, which will be completed with real-life oriented user stories, good practices and lessons learned, . We are looking forward to that.

Javier Ganzarain, Jonas Bernitt, Willeke van Staalduinen