Protecting Your Workforce’s Mental Health During The Pandemic

Overview

Recorded March 31, 2020

Available Now On-Demand

Special presentation of the Prevention Podcast to learn the three focus areas of mental health that employers and the workforce should prioritize during the global pandemic.

Special Guests: Dr. William Kassler, Chief Medical Officer, Government Health & Human Services, IBM Watson Health, and Carl J. Sheperis, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

About the Webinar

The coronavirus pandemic and the necessity to engage in social distancing has had a dramatic impact on how businesses conduct their work. It has also led to extreme anxiety for many employees who may be dealing with a sense of isolation, the prospects of fewer hours or job loss, family disruptions, and even illness from the virus itself.

These feelings of isolation, anxiousness and loneliness can be overwhelming for those with anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges. Coping with this level of stress can aggravate underlying conditions.

Companies that set up programs to address workforce well-being and mental health issues can help mitigate many of the negative psychosocial factors that adversely impact people and teams. And technology can play a major role in the success of these efforts.

• The three focus areas of our mental health that employers and the workforce should prioritize right now
• How increasingly sophisticated technology is being designed to strengthen our communities and our workforce
• What healthcare workers are going through and the type of care they may need
• Case studies and examples of how new technologies can improve access to mental health resources and prevent mental health crises from escalating

Speakers

Dan Verton

Risk Intelligence Expert, Award-Winning Journalist

Dan Verton is a former military intelligence officer and anti-terrorism awareness training producer for a nationwide DHS training program. Dan is the author of four books, including The Hacker Diaries (McGraw-Hill, 2002), Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism (McGraw-Hill, 2003), and Left of Boom (Amazon, 2017).

Dr. William Kassler, IBM

Chief Medical Officer, Government Health & Human Services, IBM Watson Health

Dr. Kassler has spent his career working at the intersection of clinical care and population health; as a practicing primary care internist, epidemiologist, health services researcher, public sector administrator and health policy expert.

Carl J. Sheperis, Ph.D.

Dean, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University - San Antonio

Carl Sheperis is a mental health scholar and a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Global Forum on Health Professional Education.