May 2021

The Department of Primary Care and Population Health (DPCPH) is an Institutional member of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and participates in a number of activities that promote public health locally and internationally.  This includes participation in the European Public Health Week, held annually since 2019 to raise awareness about public health and to promote collaboration among the public health community in Europe.  This year’s European Public Health Week was held from 17 to 21 May with the theme “Joining Forces for Healthier Populations” and included events organized by 40 countries in 19 languages.

The Medical School coordinated six events all open to members of the local and EUPHA communities. The events reached more than 160 community members and were accomplished through collaboration with colleagues from the Medical School, the Medical Centre, the University of Nicosia community, and external partners.

An English-language event kicked off the week on 17 May’s theme of “Communicating Science and Health” and was titled “Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus: What can we learn and how to move forward?”  The event was held in collaboration with colleagues from the Cyprus University of Technology and its Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health to discuss best practices in communication. The panel discussed pitfalls and clarity in messaging for the ongoing consideration of health and public health students and professionals including ideas for moving forward.

Five additional events were held in Greek, including themes and collaborators as follows:

  • For 18 May’s theme of “New challenges in mental health,” an event was held to discuss “The mental health of children and parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
  • For 19 May’s theme of “Your local community,” two events were held:
    • “Introduction to Pilates” in collaboration with the Sports Science Programme of the University of Nicosia Department of Life and Health Sciences and
    • “Priorities for our Health during the 1st year of the COVID-19 Pandemic” organized with the University of Nicosia Medical Centre in collaboration with the Nutrition and Dietetics and Sports Science Programmes of the University of Nicosia Department of Life and Health Sciences.
  • For 20 May’s theme of “All for one health,” an event was held titled “How does the food chain affect people’s health” in collaboration with the Nutrition and Dietetics Programme of the Department of Life and Health Sciences of the University of Nicosia School of Sciences and Engineering.
  • For 21 May’s theme of “Leaving no one behind,” an event was held titled “Public Health without exclusion” in collaboration with the University of Nicosia Department of Social Sciences, Migrant Information Center, Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies, Municipality of Limassol, and Birth Forward. The event was held to discuss the effects on vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 Pandemic, what organizations have done to protect and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable, and what can be done to continue the momentum moving forward.

Thank you to all collaborators and participants for joining us to continue to advance the public health dialogue.