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03.03.2025
Maternal Health: Training Doctors in Ukraine
On February 4, 2025, the Public Health Center of Ukraine (PHC) held a training session titled "Motivational Interviewing Techniques" for doctors working with pregnant women. The training aimed to equip healthcare professionals with effective motivational interviewing methods to support healthy behaviors in pregnant women, particularly in promoting alcohol cessation and reducing other harmful habits. The event was organized and conducted by the Public Health Center of Ukraine, specifically experts from the Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Research Departments: · Natalia Usenko, Specialist, NCD Prevention Department · Yuliia Kotykovych, Lead Specialist, NCD Prevention Department · Kateryna Marushko, Lead Specialist, Research Department · Darina Pustylnyk, Specialist, NCD Prevention Department About the Training The training was led by Ihor Zastavnyi, Ph.D. in Medicine, Associate Professor at the UCU School of Public Administration, Board Member of the Ukrainian Academy of Family Medicine, and Master Trainer of the mhGAP program. Participants included doctors from healthcare facilities in Kyiv involved in the pilot program "Screening and Brief Interventions for Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women": Kyiv Perinatal Center Kyiv City Center for Reproductive and Perinatal Medicine Kyiv City Maternity Hospital No. 1 During the session, participants learned about modern approaches to promoting healthy behaviors, studied the fundamentals of brief interventions and motivational interviewing, engaged in practical exercises to enhance their counseling skills, and completed a knowledge assessment test. Doctors also discussed real-life cases and received feedback from the trainer on the effectiveness of their applied methods. Why This Matters This training is part of the pilot program "Screening and Brief Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women", implemented under the European project JA PreventNCD, which aims to reduce the burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases with financial support from the European Union. The importance of the initiative was highlighted by Oleksandr Yurchenko, Deputy Director General of the Public Health Center: "According to WHO data from 2023, alcohol consumption remains a pressing issue among adult women in Ukraine. Given this, as well as the absence of a unified national screening and intervention program for alcohol use during pregnancy, introducing a new counseling model is a necessary step toward reducing the risks of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and improving the health of future mothers and children." The Public Health Center remains committed to supporting initiatives aimed at enhancing the competencies of healthcare professionals in disease prevention and health promotion. Training programs of this kind contribute to more effective patient counseling and foster healthier habits within the population.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/maternal-health-training-doctors-in-ukraine/
06.02.2025
Together for Europe’s Health – strategic orientations and actions for public health
Poland assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1, 2025, marking the start of a crucial six-month period where it will play a leading role in shaping the EU agenda. As part of its presidency, the Ministry of Health of Poland hosted the conference Together for Europe’s Health – strategic orientations and actions for public health, on January 16 in Warsaw. The conference provided an opportunity to explore innovative solutions, share best practices, foster international collaboration in healthcare, and discuss key challenges and opportunities in promoting health, preventing diseases, addressing the mental health needs of children and young people, and advancing the digital transformation of healthcare systems. This aligns closely with the objectives of JA PreventNCD, which supports EU Member States in strengthening policies to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through evidence-based approaches.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/together-for-europe-s-health-strategic-orientations-and-actions-for-public-health/
31.10.2024
Making WHO European Region the Healthiest Online Environment for children: Restrict harmful marketing
JA PreventNCD is co-organizing the scientific session “Making WHO European Region the healthiest online environment for children: restrict harmful marketing”, along with WHO Euro and EUPHA, at the European Public Health Conference in Lisbon, November 2024. Marketing exposure, particularly towards children, remains a pervasive challenge, posing a significant threat to children's health and well-being. Despite WHO recommendations, few countries in the WHO European Region have introduced mandatory policies restricting marketing of unhealthy products to children. Furthermore, traditional monitoring tools struggle to keep up with automated and personalized advertisements, making reliable monitoring mechanisms and innovative tools urgently needed. The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed the KidAd platform to address this gap for a tool allowing objective and standardized monitoring of children’s exposure to digital advertising. Regional Adviser for Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Special Initiative on NCDs and Innovation, WHO Regional Office For Europe, Kremlin Wickramasinghe (Denmark) and Amandine Garde (EUPHA-LAW), Professor of Law at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, will co-chair this 60-minute scientific session. Among the speakers, Olga Zhiteneva, from WHO Europe will present Innovative tools from WHO Europe to protect children from digital marketing of unhealthy products, in particular the KidAd platform, a pioneering tool developed to address these modern challenges by providing an objective product to monitor various marketing materials. The Lead of Task 5.6, Maria João Gregório from the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health, will give an overview on Collaborative efforts of the Joint Action PreventNCD and the WHO Europe to protect children from harmful marketing, focusing on the concrete collaborative actions to support the implementation of the marketing regulation: On JA work with the Member States and especially presidency countries, to allow for the discussions on the development of the EU regulation for reduction of the harmful marketing; On the EU stakeholders positions regarding marketing regulation; On the collaborative actions in scaling up the KidAd app to detect alcohol, tobacco and nicotine-containing products marketing. Finally, Iveta Nagyova, from EUPHA, will identify evidence-based behavioural strategies such as nudges, choice architecture, and social norms that can influence healthier choices, thereby reducing the impact of harmful marketing, with the presentation Leveraging Behavioural Insights to Create Healthier Online Environment for Children.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/making-who-european-region-the-healthiest-online-environment-for-children-restrict-harmful-marketing/