TUES 9 MAY 2023 1:00PM

Positive Psychological Wellbeing and Health at Older Ages 

Optimising psychological wellbeing is a desirable societal aim in itself, but there are several more specific reasons why positive wellbeing is an important emerging research theme in the health domain. First, positive wellbeing is not merely the mirror of depression, anxiety or distress, but has distinct relationships with a range of outcomes. Second, positive wellbeing appears to be a protective factor for physical morbidity and mortality; although studies are complex and take a long time to complete, there is accumulating evidence that greater hedonic and eudemonic wellbeing predict the survival among older people independently of covariates including health status and depression. Third, positive wellbeing has broad ramifications at older ages, being related to personal and social relationships, economic prosperity, biological risk factors, health behaviors, and time use as well as health

Bio: Andrew Steptoe is professor of psychology and epidemiology at University College London, where he is Head of the Department of Behavioural Science and Health, and director of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). He graduated in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford. He moved to UCL in 2000 as British Heart Foundation Professor of Psychology, and was Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care from 2011 until 2017. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Academy for Social Sciences. Dr Steptoe’s research is primarily focused on links between psychological and social processes and physical health, and on population aging.

In COW.1.11 Sandwiches and Soft drinks from 12:30

Meeting Registration - Zoom

TUES 16 MAY 2023 MAY

Doctor Consultations - In person versus Online (joint with Amanda Dahlstrand and Nestor Le Nestour)

We study the effects of meetings between patients and doctors (primary care physicians) taking place online versus in-person. The decision whether to deliver services online or in-person is crucial in many settings, but there is relatively little evidence about its consequences. This decision is particularly important for delivering primary healthcare, due to the potential implications for patient health, the cost of healthcare provision, and the differential access that patients have to in-person care depending on their location and socioeconomic status. To shed light on this question, we assemble new data, which allow us to follow the health treatments and outcomes of (anonymized) individual patients in Sweden. We use variation in the effectively random assignment of patients to nurses with different propensities to refer patients to online versus in-person doctor meetings. We then study the costs and health consequences of this decision, including on doctor-patient meeting duration, patient satisfaction, health diagnosis, prescription, and subsequent hospitalizations.

Bio: Guy Micheals is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a research associate at Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the LSE. He also serves as an associate editor at the Economic Journal. His research interests include labor economics, urban economics, and economic development. His research focuses on urbanization, labor market inequality, and technological change. He has a B.Sc. in Mathematics, magna cum laude, from Tel-Aviv University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In COW.1.11 Sandwiches and Soft drinks from 12:30

Meeting Information - Zoom

Previous events

See past Department of Health Policy events here.