The analysis by Martina Fehérová and her colleagues showed that more than half of the university students interviewed during the covid-19 pandemic did not know where to turn for help in case of mental difficulties.
To that end, experts proposed a “buddy system” of peers that young people could confide in. “The advantage of a peer is that he understands what the given person is going through, because he has gone through or is going through similar experiences.”
Martina Fehérová teaches behavioral economics at the University of Sydney and works as an external advisor to the behavioral and experimental economics team of the Slovak Ministry of Health (beet) in Slovakia.
In the interview you will also read:
- what is the behavioral register of blood donors and what stage is the project at;
- what is nudge, loss aversion or social approval and what other measures and principles are used in behavioral economics;
- how to cope with high distrust of state institutions and how to increase vaccination coverage;
- what differences exist in the conditions for science between Slovakia and Australia, where Martina Fehérová works.
What factors influence people’s motivation to donate blood?
In the behavioral team under the Ministry of Health, we investigated whether the donor is motivated by pure altruism and wants to help people without the right to a reward or external influences. These include, for example, a visible reward that can be shown off in front of friends or in society.
In addition, we also investigated the setting of the blood donation environment. In Australia, where I work, it is like here, that there is no payment for donating blood or plasma. The situation in Slovakia is different compared to Australia in that our neighbor is a country where plasma donation is paid for. And very well. When some students – especially from the Bratislava region – want to earn money, they go to Austria.
What were the results of your research?
We’ve found that for most people, finances don’t have that much of an impact and