International Festival of Public Health

LT 6 - Health Promotion and Improvement

Third Screen: a project for an interactive news letter

Presenter: Luca Sala, ASL Biella, Italy

Other author(s): Maurizio Bacchi, Dania Brioschi

Abstract Text: In our Dipartiment of health promotion are working doctors, veterinarians, technicians and health care assistance of different brunch of knowledge but all in health primary promotion. My group is working in health promotion mainly direct to student and young people. We believe in collaborative marketing concept,in the awareness of the necessity to engage the target of our activities in the planning of helth project and activities. On the other side there is always someone that have better knowledge or knows better methods to obtain results in improving progressing way of life. With this project we have the necessity to develope in students, 14-18 years old, of secondary school,knowledge about the risks of a bad nutrition, over eating, compulsive eating, not complet eating. In the same time the risk connected with a low level of athletic and phisical activity. For that we contacted teachers of a secondary school in our town, of scientific term adress, asking them to organize a group of student who, as peer educators, will develope a news letter on line with contenents we, with our expert, will develope and submit to be translate in their language, you tube sketch, intervew or any other instrument they will reconize as effectivness. The way of popularization will be internet and social forum. We started in september with the first meeeting with teachers and students and the first new letter distribution will be for the the end of april 2015. The news letter will be updated in progress with new argoments.

Burden of asthma co-morbidity in the UK: secondary analyses of national databases from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Presenter: Karim El Ferkh, University of Edinburgh

Other author(s): Bright Nwaru, Chris Griffiths, Aziz El Sheikh

Dynamic longitudinal associations between social support and cognitive function: losing and gaining in late life

Presenter: Jing Liao, UCL

Other author(s): Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Jenny Head, Eric Brunner

Abstract Text:

Background :The current evidence on the neuro-protective effects of social support cannot exclude reverse causality. This study systematically investigates the dynamic reciprocity between social support and cognitive function in late life.

Methods: Analyses were based on three parallel repeat measures of social support and cognition from the Whitehall II cohort, providing 10-year follow-up of 6863 participants (mean age 55.8 years, SD 6.0 at analysis baseline). Alternative dynamic hypotheses were evaluated via four bivariate dual change score models (BDCSM): full coupling model estimated mutual influences of social support and cognition on subsequent changes in each other; social causation model assumed a unidirectional influence from social support onto changes in cognition only, while the opposite assumption was tested by health selection model; last, no coupling model suggested independent growth of these two sets of variables.

Results:The health selection model fitted the current analytic data the best. A greater cognitive function at the preceding stage was related to less positive changes in confiding support and less negative changes in practical support from close relationships. In contrast, influences from social support onto subsequent changes in cognition were not statistically different from zero.

Conclusions: The present study provides empirical evidence for the health selection mechanism, suggesting that cognition is more likely to be the leading modifying factor for changes in social support, whereas there is no detectable influence the other way around.

How economic crisis in Greece reflects on the community social services. The example of the Municipality of Pallini.

Presenter: Irini Kounenaki

Other author(s): Eleni Konstantinou

Abstract Text: The aim of this presentation is to show how economic crisis reflects on the provision of community social services, using the example of the Greek Municipality of Pallini. Since 2008, Greece faces one of the most pervasive financial crises with subsequent effects on every domain of public life, such as the system of public health, education, social services, and in addition, the quality of everyday life for citizens. Although the social inequalities and imbalancies have increased, it is remarkable how crisis has also given the opportunity for new practices in the context of community social services. The traditional way of the provision of community social services proved to be insufficient to copy with the ongoing growth of new demands: unemployement, poverty, social isolation, anxiety, depression, etc. Non Govermental Organizations, voluntarism and part-time employees reinforced the existing social structures and new ones have been created: social grocery, social pharmacy, social tutorial, emergency financial assistance, supporting groups. A discussion will be initiated on the effectiveness of these new tactics.