WONCA NEWS January - February 2023

VOL 49 | NUMBER 1

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Y E A R S

NEWS

2023

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y T H I S

I S S U E

I N C L U D E S

YDM YOUNG DOCTORS' MOVEMENTS

N E W S L E T T E R

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WONCA PRESIDENT DR ANNA STAVDAL (NORWAY) EMAIL: PRESIDENT@WONCA.NET TWITTER: @ASTAVDAL PRESIDENT-ELECT ASSOC PROF KAREN FLEGG (AUSTRALIA) EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT LARGE & HONORARY TREASURER PROF VAL WASS (UK) EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT LARGE DR MARÍA PILAR ASTIER PEÑA (SPAIN) EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT LARGE PROF SHABIR MOOSA (SOUTH AFRICA) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA AFRICA DR DAN ABUBAKAR (NIGERIA) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA ASIA PACIFIC ASSOC PROF MOHAMMAD HUSNI JAMAL (MALAYSIA) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA EAST MEDITERRANEAN PROF TAGHREED MOHAMED FARAHAT (EGYPT) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA EUROPE PROF SHLOMO VINKER (ISRAEL) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA IBEROAMERICANACIMF ADJ/PROF JACQUELINE PONZO (URUGUAY) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA NORTH AMERICA DR JEFF MARKUNS (USA) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA SOUTH ASIA DR TARIQ AZIZ (PAKISTAN) YOUNG DOCTORS' REPRESENTATIVE DR SANKHA RANDENIKUMARA (SRI LANKA) WONCA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER DR HARRIS LYGIDAKIS WONCA WORLD SECRETARIAT WORLD ORGANIZATION OF FAMILY DOCTORS AVENUE DES ARTS 7-8 1210 BRUSSELS BELGIUM EMAIL: SECRETARIAT@WONCA.NET PHONE: +32 (0) 2 329 00 75 WONCA EDITOR MARIA DOLORES ZAVALA EMAIL: EDITOR@WONCA.NET TRANSLATIONS DR JIE GU DR HUA YANG

CONTENT FROM THE PRESIDENT

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ADJ PROFESSOR KAREN PRICE

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HOC OF WONCA SYDNEY

WONCA SYDNEY 2023

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PROGRAM SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE RMA 2023 - RURAL PRE - CONFERENCE

WONCA CONFERENCES 28TH WONCA EUROPE CONFERENCE WONCA IBEROAMERICANA CIMF CONGRESS

WONCA & WHO NEWS

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WHO CONFERENCE ON PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH WHAT IS THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATING BODY ?

CONSTITUENCY STATEMENT 152ND SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

WONCA REGIONS

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RURAL SEEDS AFRICA AT WONCA AFRICA 2022 ADVANCING SOUTH ASIAN FAMILY MEDICINE TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM WONCA IBEROAMERICANA CIMF ADDRESSES CRISIS IN PERU AND THE REGION

WP & SIGS NEWS

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TRANSFORMING MENTAL HEALTH CARE: WONCA INTRODUCES THE MDD MINDS PROJECT PLANETARY HEALTH EDUCATION FOR PRIMARY CARE WWPWFM:THERE IS NO FORCE MORE POWERFUL THAN A WOMAN DETERMINED TO RISE

FEATURED STORIES

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WONCA JOINS PMNCH FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH FOR WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS GLOBALLY ALL HANDS ON DECK: CO-DEVELOPING THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS

YOUNG DOCTORS' MOVEMENTS

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MEMBER ORGANIZATION NEWS

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ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES

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WONCA NEWS

FROM THE PRESIDENT J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3

R E F L E C T I O N S N E W Y E A R

F O R

It can be an eye opener to work with professionals from other disciplines. Striving to communicate how we perceive our field, our awareness of what matters to us deepens. And, what a surprise – and a gift – it can be to discover how we’re perceived. I highly recommend such exchanges.

O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!

Robert Burns, 1776 [written in Scottish]

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I’ve been fortunate to cooperate with, among others, Family Therapist and author Susan Schwartz Senstad. She has provided psychotherapy most of her adult life, including to many physicians and caregivers, and her novels, Music for the Third Ear, and Milk and Venom, delve into the personal impact of war, and of family trauma.

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WONCA NEWS

P R E S I D E N T • For the Core Value of “person-centred medicine”:

Through our continuing discussions, she and I, the therapist and the physician, keep on learning from each other. Our similarities run deep: at the core of both our endeavors is the on-going relationship with the patient over time. The framework of the clinical stance we share, “person-centred care", places the patient at the centre by prioritizing respect for the values, experiences, needs and preferences of the patient when planning, coordinating and providing care.

We have both also poited out deficiencies and inconsistencies in how the other’s field actually functions – and what such systemic problems cost us and our patients.

I want to share something that Susan has written about how we GPs let ourselves down as we put two of our Family Medicine Core Values into practice. Both could sort under one heading: “A Physician is also a Person.”

Warning: This content may not make for comfortable reading!

However, I consider it so recognizably relevant – for me and my fellow Family Doctors – that I offer it here as my Reflections for a New Year:

susansenstad.com - -

By not making mention of the physician as a person, you implicitly endorse the age-old but discredited stance of clinical “objectivity”.

When caregivers fail to attend to and appropriately integrate their own subjective responses, the interpersonal distance that’s created reinforces the very asymmetry of power that “person-centred medicine” is designed to correct. “Know your place” may be the non-verbal message that patients sense as GPs’ “objective”, objectifying gaze guides the focus safely away from themselves – as if the physicians’ own personhood weren’t an integral part of the exchange. The patient may well feel devalued and the GP may come off as arrogant, unfeeling, invulnerable, inhuman, even inhumane.

Indeed, doctors who are in denial of their own personal vulnerabilities and emotional needs remain ill-equipped to offer their patients adequately tuned empathy, to help them allay their fears or counteract their shame at being unwell, dependent, socially disadvantaged, etc.

These reminders become even more timely as we live through challenging circumstances. Global trends such as climate change and financial hardship affect us all, while more regional situations such as armed conflicts affect many. We frontline workers in healthcare observe and experience the consequences in our local communities.

We see that the need for the Family Doctor is greater than ever. We are privileged to be able to make a difference in our patients` lives. And we want to keep doing so – long term. That means that we need to take care of ourselves and each other. Might it be a good idea to make sure that all Family Doctors have Family Doctors of their own?

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A N N A S T A V D A L WONCA PRESIDENT

• For the Core Value of “continuity of care”: Doctoring is good work, but it’s hard – on the whole person and on the lived life, especially over time. Yet, instead of physicians learning “emotional awareness” to help them cope, “emotional detachment” has traditionally been mandated. That potentially damaging stance requires them to downplay, neglect or even deny the impact their work has on them.

As you all well know, what isn’t acknowledged and dealt with doesn’t go away. It smoulders.

Unattended, it may undermine resilience and exhaust one’s stamina. Too many GPs burn out, have breakdowns, self-medicate, quit, even commit suicide. The field loses them – their patients lose them. What happens, then, to “continuity of care”?

Because GPs are persons, they may be encouraged explicitly to take active and respectful care of their own physical and emotional needs, to insist that the context created by the medical system’s structures also serves the caregivers’ long-term needs, and to demand that help for them as helpers be readily available – and free of shame.

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Translate this content into your preferred language using the Google Translate feature on the WONCA website.

C O N F R E D E N C E

WONCA NEWS

N E W S

ADJ PROFESSOR

KAREN PRICE SYDNEY HOC CHAIR: Dear Family Doctors and the Family Doctor Community, As the Host Organising Committee Chair of the WONCA World conference coming to Sydney from October 26 – 29, 2023, I’d like to invite our colleagues, friends, and collaborators from around the world to celebrate the wonder of Family and Community Medicine.

This is a friendly reminder that abstract submission for WONCA 2023 will close on February 16.

WONCA 23 will challenge, enlighten, and enthuse each attending person. With that in mind, we would like conference sessions to be as interactive as possible. The abstract submission process requires a description of your presentation/session in up to 300 words. It asks you to identify three learning objectives.

Extended Abstracts deadline: February 16

Our peer review process will assess each abstract, looking for topics relevant to family doctors. More traditional formats will be welcome, such as illustrated talks, debates, discussion panels, and research presentations. However, we would be pleased to receive abstracts that use innovative presentation styles such as dance, poetry, song, narration, and embedded audio-visual content. Let us inspire each other with the breadth of the generalist. We will endeavour to let you know the outcome of our peer review process by 5 April.

For more details on submissions, please refer to the article written by Scientific Committee Chair, Professor Mark Morgan

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K A R E N P R I C E S y d n e y H O C C h a i r :

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WONCA NEWS

The themes of WONCA 2023 are;

Conference Themes

“RECOVERY, RECONNECTION, AND REVIVAL. A CELEBRATION OF PRIMARY CARE” The theme of recovery allows us to think about the turbulent times faced in healthcare by the COVID19 Pandemic and the ongoing threats posed by climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and economic strain.

The theme of reconnection will focus on how we work together as a global community of family doctors and how we can achieve the best health outcomes for our populations in every location.

The theme of revival will explore the future of high-quality, sustainable primary care that is evidence-based and person-centred.

Late Breaking research submissions

There is a separate opportunity for research abstract submissions closer to the dates of WONCA 2023 to allow for new and emerging research to be presented. We have called this subsequent opportunity ‘’late-breaking”.

Abstracts may be submitted from May 24 to June 8. We will attempt to let researchers know the outcome of the review process by June 30.

WONCA23 provides a wonderful opportunity to share your knowledge, skills, experiences or research while interacting with family doctors worldwide.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU TO AUSTRALIA.

Translate this content into your preferred language using the Google Translate feature on the WONCA website.

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YOU ASKED,

LAST CHANCE

PROGRAM SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE

16 FEBRUARY

WONCA NEWS

WONCA SYDNEY EXTENDS PROGRAM SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE: 16 FEBRUARY The WONCA community has spoken. With the end of year just around the corner, the upcoming end of year celebrations, we have revised our close date to now be in the new year. We hope this will assist you in preparing and submitting your program submission for the WONCA 2023 World Conference

PREPARE

ASSEMBLE

APPLY TO PRESENT

Review the presentation styles and submission guidelines before preparing your submission.

Prepare your submission following the submission guidelines, using either the clinical/educational OR// research guide.

Only submissions completed in the WONCA 2023 submission portal by 11.59 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), 16 February 2023 will be reviewed and considered for inclusion into the program.

Emailed and incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.

WONCA.RACGP.ORG.AU/WONCA-2023 8

WONCA NEWS

Before WONCA World Conference in Sydney 2023, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) are proud to co-host a pre-conference event for rural and remote doctors!

The conference will bring together a global community of Rural Generalists, rural consultant specialists, students, doctors in training, supervisors, medical educators and allied-health practitioners to celebrate your passion for delivering safe, culturally appropriate and consistent healthcare to rural and remote communities.

About RMA 23 We acknowledge the Muwinina people, the traditional owners of the Land on which we will gather for RMA23 at the Hobart Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hotel Grand Chancellor from Wednesday, 18 October to Saturday, 21 October.

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Attending WONCA 2023 on Gadigal Country, Sydney? RMA23 is thrilled to be an official pre-event for the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA) World Conference, meaning not only will you catch up with and meet colleagues from around Australia, but you will have the unique opportunity to network with rural specialists from around the world while experiencing the rich culture of Hobart.

Join the RMA23 and find your tribe!

WONCA NEWS

W O N C A

C O N F E R E N C E S

28TH WONCA EUROPE CONFERENCE

WONCA CONFERENCES

7 - 10 JUN 2023, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

It is our pleasure to welcome you in the capital of more than 500 million Europeans.

As the centre of European culture and institutions, Brussels has much more to offer than most people imagine. Apart from its famous chocolates and beers, there are almost 90 museums, beautiful parks, architecture, bars and much more.

Dear Friends and Colleagues, hello to you all!

Let’s start by introducing ourselves: My name is Aurore Girard, I am the VicePresident of Société Scientifique de Médecine Générale (member of the Belgian Society for General Practitioners) and I have the privilege to chair the Host Organising Committee for the 28th WONCA Europe conference in Brussels from 7 to 10 June 2023.

My name is Ann Van den Bruel - I’m a GP in Antwerp and an Associate Professor at the KU Leuven in Belgium, and the Chair of the Scientific Committee of WONCA Europe 2023.

Our conference theme is “Making choices in primary care”. The Scientific Committee is preparing an exciting programme based on original abstracts and contributions from leading international scientific networks and special interest groups. Coming together as a research community, WONCA 2023 will showcase cutting edge research to support primary care in Europe.

The conference will give us all a chance to meet, discuss choices and implement positive change.

See you soon in Brussels!

FIND MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTER HERE

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WONCA NEWS

WONCA IBEROMAERICANA - CIMF

VIII REGIONAL CONGRESS "Family and Community Medicine, Key to a new Care Model"

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WONCA AT THE WHO

CONFERENCE ON PRESERVICE EDUCATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSOR CHRIS DOWRICK CONTRIBUTED WONCA'S KNOWLEDGE, FEATURING THE 2018 CORE COMPETENCIES IN MENTAL HEALTH GUIDANCE AND THE ACTIVE ADVOCACY INITIATIVE. Professor Christopher Dowrick, a former chair of the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health, represented WONCA at the World Health Organization's conference on preservice education for mental health in Geneva, Switzerland on December 15th and 16th.

The WHO is aiming to advance in the area of pre-service training in mental health for nonspecialist health care providers (e.g., general medicine, nursing, midwifery). To support the development of a prioritized programme of work in the area, the WHO hosted a 2-day in-person consultation titled ‘Preservice Training in Mental Health: Forming the right foundations’.

The objectives of the meeting were to (a) bring together experts and other key stakeholders, for the purpose of sharing information and exchanging views in the field of pre-service training in mental health, particularly for non-specialist healthcare workers, and (b) to start understanding the extent of consensus and evidence for key approaches to increasing the integration of mental health in pre-service training programmes and curricula.The outcome of the meeting was to highlight priority topics in the field of and identify and prioritize key needs and actions.

Prof. Dowrick brought WONCA's expertise to the meeting, including the 2018 Core Competencies in Mental Health guidance document and the ongoing Advocacy project.

The also Emeritus Professor of the University of Liverpool, UK wrote: "The WHO conference on pre-service education for mental health, which took place in Geneva, was very successful. There was good attendance from senior psychiatric, mental health nursing and social work colleagues from all WHO regions, as well as UNICEF, World Psychiatric Association and International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities, and strong buy-in from the Director and other senior members of WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Use. The meeting was ably chaired by Shekhar Saxena."

The focus was on developing guidance for low and middle income countries on why and how to include mental health in undergraduate curricula. There was also awareness of the need to develop pre-service training at postgraduate clinical level. Through a series of presentations and guided workshops we refined the concept,definition and nature of effective pre-service education and offered advice to WHO on actions they needed to take to support LMICs in implementing pre-service education at scale. There were impressive presentations of achievements in, for example, Philippines, Nigeria and India, and cogent discussion of the importance of assessment and certification and of the actions needed to ensure programme endorsement.

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I was delighted to represent WONCA. It was clear that the role of family doctors in this field is valued and appreciated, for example our guidance on core competencies, and that we are known to have considerable expertise to offer our mental health colleagues. I had specific conversations with colleagues from Mexico, India and Nigeria which may lead to direct connections in these countries.

The plan is for WHO to produce a practical report. There will be opportunities for WONCA not only to comment on substantive drafts but also to offer organisational endorsement. I would encourage WONCA executive to pursue both of these options.

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THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATING BODY

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on human lives, economies, and societies. To avoid a repeat of the past, the international community should collaborate to be much better prepared and aligned in responding to possible future pandemic threats.

In December 2021, the World Health Assembly Special Session (WHASS) took place in Geneva, Switzerland. This is only the second time in the history of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Health Assembly (WHA) has met for a second time in the same year.

The WHA established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement, or other international instrument under the Constitution of the WHO to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The INB’s work is based on the principles of inclusiveness, transparency, efficiency, Member State leadership and consensus.

The INB should hold meetings to deliver a progress report to the 76th WHA in 2023, with the aim to adopt the instrument by 2024. In the decision establishing the INB, the WHA also requested the WHO Director-General to convene the INB meetings and support its work, including by holding public hearings to inform its deliberations. The United Nations system bodies, non-state actors, and other relevant stakeholders can participate in the process to the extent decided by the INB.

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Together with other non-state actors, including the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the International Hospital Federation (IHF), and the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the World Federation of Public Health Associations WFPHA provided several statements during the INB public hearing.

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CONSTITUENCY STATEMENT

152ND SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD WONCA joins the constituency statement delivered by the World Heart Federation on behalf of the Coalition for Circulatory Health.

Along the World Organization of Family Doctors, the coallition includes the Framework Convention Alliance on Tobacco Control, International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations, International Diabetes Federation, International Society of Hypertension, International Society of Nephrology, World Hypertension League, and the World Stroke Organization.

The statement is in response to the World Health Organization's Report EB 152/5 and underscores the critical importance of reorienting health systems towards primary health care as a resilient foundation for universal health coverage. The statement will be presented at the United Nations General Assembly's high-level meeting on universal health coverage, emphasizing the role of primary health care in achieving equitable access to quality health services for all.

152ND SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, 30 JANUARY7 FEBRUARY 2023 Agenda item 5: Universal Health Coverage Reorienting health systems to primary health care as a resilient foundation for universal health coverage and preparations for a highlevel meeting on the United Nations General Assembly on universal health coverage (EB152/5) Response to WHO Report EB 152/5: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB 152/B152_5-en.pdf

This constituency statement is delivered by the World Heart Federation on behalf of the Framework Convention Alliance on Tobacco Control, International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations, International Diabetes Federation, International Society of Hypertension, International Society of Nephrology, World Hypertension League, World Organization of Family Doctors, and the World Stroke Organization.

Honorable Chair, Distinguished Delegates, Thank you for the opportunity to deliver this statement on behalf of the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health.

We note with disappointment the report by the Director-General recognizing that the world is not on track to achieve SDG 3 targets but welcome the valuable guidance to Member States through the four priority areas of action.

Circulatory diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease, are the number one cause of death and disability worldwide, leading to more than 20 million deaths and 374 million healthy years of life lost every year.

In the absence of UHC, the chronic nature of circulatory disease has a catastrophic impact on a country's development and is responsible for generational poverty experienced in many LMICs. As highlighted in the report, ninety per cent of essential interventions for UHC can be delivered through primary health care.

Therefore, the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health calls on Member States to: • Accelerate progress towards UHC through robust and well-financed primary health care systems, including investments in family medicine where appropriate, based on the principles of quality, equity, accessibility and affordability;

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• Ensure adequate and sustained financing for and availability of circulatory health services, in the context of national UHC strategies; including for prevention, acute and chronic treatments as well as rehabilitation, additionally incorporating digital innovations in circulatory health; • Include cost-effective circulatory health interventions that also address their risk factors into national UHC packages of essential interventions to be delivered at primary health care level, drawing on examples from Appendix 3 of the WHO Global NCD Action Plan and the HEARTS Technical Package; and • Engage people living with NCDs and circulatory conditions to keep UHC peoplecentered.

Finally, we would also like to extend our support for the Resolution on diagnostics and request Member States to consider it for the upcoming 76th WHA. Implementation of these recommendations can contribute significantly to reducing the burden of circulator diseases and bring poverty alleviation. Thanlk you

Constituency members: 1. Framework Convention Alliance on Tobacco Control (FCA) 2. International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO) 3. International Diabetes Federation (IDF) 4. International Society of Hypertension (ISH) 5. International Society of Nephrology (ISN) 6. World Heart Federation (WHF) 7. World Hypertension League (WHL) 8. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) 9. World Stroke Organization (WSO)

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BY: DR. MERCY NAFULA WANJALA- RURAL SEEDS AMBASSADOR, AFRICA REGION

Rural Family Medicine Café Abuja Edition: “The Role of African Health Care Students and young professionals in pandemic preparedness and response”.

The COVID-19 pandemic unearthed a few ethical dilemmas and challenges in its management and response. One of these predicaments involved medical students and residents. At the start and peak of the pandemic, the threat and fear of death resulted in lockdowns, social distancing and isolation, leading to the closure of medical schools, among other institutions. Health care and medicine is a profession where the learners depend about 70% on apprenticeship and practical experience. This learning process was interrupted with students and residents being sent home to attend virtual lectures, even as the biting shortage in the healthcare workforce- of which they are a crucial part, raged on, which begs the question: “Do the students and residents have a role in pandemic preparedness and response? Should they have a role? If so, which one?”

RURAL SEEDS AFRICA AT WONCA AFRICA CONFERENCE 2022 A great example was given from Nigeria on the effects of sending students home during the pandemic. Parents demanded that the students be sent home for fear of their children being exposed to the COVID-19 virus and probably dying. During school reopening, 50% of the COVID-19 antigen test applied to students were positive, attributed to community transmission, weakened the argument that attending class and clinical rotations would expose students to the virus.

Either way, at school or home, they were still at risk, mostly when public health and safety measures were disregarded.

The topic generated an interesting discussion around the involvement of medical students in health care and health care services delivery. There was a clear split in the room, with one group calling for exclusion, and if they must be included, parental consent was needed since we are speaking of minors within the African context. The other school of thought was about the importance of students gaining experience in practical emergency response to pandemics and health emergencies

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In conclusion, the group agreed that there is a need to develop a framework for the engagement and involvement of healthcare students in the emergency pandemic preparedness and response, as long as there are protective measures in place and parents' are involved in the decision-making process.

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ADVANCING SOUTH ASIAN FAMILY MEDICINE TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM COMMUNITY, GOVERNMENT & ACADEMIA COLLABORATION AUTHORS: DR. TARIQ AZIZ, PRESIDENT WONCA SOUTH ASIA REGION DR. HINA JAWAID, CHAIR WONCA SAR PRIMARY CARE RESEARCH NETWORK DR. RAMAKRISHNA PRASAD, EDITOR WONCA SAR JOURNAL

Exemplar 1: Family Physicians (General Practitioners) of Pakistan supporting community oriented primary care and promoting evidence based practices.

Written by Dr Muhammad Hassam Khan, Lecturer Family Medicine Pakistan’s infant mortality rate as of 2022 is 56.88 per 1000 live births, a reduction of 1.91% from 20211. According to estimates, the infant mortality rate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northwest region, is 58 per 1000, while the maternal mortality rate is 206 per 10000. In particular, women see Lady Health Visitors for consultations and checkups. Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) are trained in a number of safe maternity methods in addition to effective family planning.

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Much training in healthcare settings is concentrated on doctors, nurses and other paramedics in hospitals and LHVs are often overlooked in spite of their significant role in a mother and a newborn child's health. The high ratio of maternal and newborn mortality can be greatly lowered if Lady Health visitors are adequately trained and informed on standards and safe procedures.

Recognizing the significance of LHVs in our society who have direct patient contact, the department of family medicine at Khyber Medical University has taken a proactive step and, in collaboration with MERF and DKT organizations, has conducted a three day, two session training for lady health visitors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Mardan and Peshawar) from 27 August, 2022 to 5 September, 2022 on topics including the importance of safe practices, safe deliveries,

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recognition of emergency conditions, referring in emergency cases, consultation skills, how to deal with common gynecological and obstetrical problems, child and mother health promotion and infection prevention. These LHVs continue to play a key role in the health of mothers and children, thus the department of family medicine at Khyber Medical University is looking forward to continuing the training and education of LHVs. Another successful medical camp was held by the family medicine department Khyber Medical University (KMU) at the Zamung Kor State Institute, where street children and orphans are supported with basic needs of life, skills and an education. KMU's Department of Family Medicine is taking the responsibility and offering the best medical examinations and care for common illnesses.

A multidisciplinary team, including family physicians, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, nutritionists and public health professionals participated in the camp.

About 200 kids, both boys and girls, under the direction of Department Head, Dr. Abdul Jalil Khan, were provided free medical check ups and medications at the camp. Dr. Abdul Jalil received a shield from "zamung kor" in recognition of his unwavering support and dedication on the day of camp along with his team.The department of family medicine is determined to continue to offer assistance and services to the state’s children.

Proceeding to the Punjab province in Pakistan, a number of community-based activities were conducted by the department of Family Medicine at University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore. Dr Hina Jawaid conducted breast cancer awareness sessions in multiple institutions (Medical and Allied health, other universities) for undergraduate medical and non-medical students. These sessions were held throughout the month of October and were open for people from every walk of life. A free session was held during these awareness talks on how to do breast self-examination, know what is normal and what abnormalities to look for .

Breast cancer survivors were also invited to these sessions who shared their stories of pain, strength and perseverance. Information leaflets in the local language were developed and distributed among participants. A pinkotober event at a software development company was arranged on the same lines.

An original article titled “Breast Cancer Knowledge Among Health Professionals: a pre-post knowledge based intervention study” has been published recently in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary care2.

Department of family medicine at Khyber Medical University, in collaboration with Pakistan Life Savers Programme and Student Welfare Society (SWS) arranged basic life support workshop for final year medical students at one of the medical colleges KMU Institute of medical Sciences in Kohat. Hands on workshop was conducted by a team of basic life support trainers, comprising of a family physician and a cardiologist.

Figure 1: Medical camp organized by Family Medicine department at Zamung Kor instutute

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An interactive session was conducted on World Heart Day, 29th Sept, 2022, by the Department of Family Medicine at UHS. The target group was undergraduate and postgraduate students of UHS. Risk factors leading to cardiovascular diseases were discussed. The focus was primarily on preventing diseases and early death due to non-communicable diseases. On random checking of blood pressures, 2 students in their early 20’s were found to have high BP. Further investigations and management was arranged.

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In addition to above, an already established Family Medicine health center in a peri-urban area of Lahore was made functional by the department of Family Medicine, UHS in September 2022. It has an out-patient clinic, a treatment room with supply of medications (oral and intravenous) and equipment for minor trauma, basic life support, cardiac arrest etc. There are mannequins for teaching basic life support to healthcare workers. A mental health counselor and nutritionist have been included to offer help and support for mental health and malnutrition related issues. The health center also focuses on prevention and early identification of non-communicable and communicable diseases.

References: 1. Macrotrends, Infant Mortality Rate, https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/PAK/ pakistan/infant-mortality-rate 2. Rehman, Huma T.1; Jawaid, Hina2; Tahir, Aisha3,; Imtiaz, Misha4; Zulfiqar, Tehzeeb5; Aziz, Tariq6. Breast cancer knowledge among health professionals: A pre–post-knowledgebased intervention study. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care: September 2022 Volume 11 - Issue 9 - p 5649-5655 doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1226_22

Figure 3: Medical centre run by department of Family Medicine at Jinnah Campus, UHS

Education of masses and Primary care advocacy through print media Written by Dr Hina Jawaid & Dr Abdul Jalil Khan The Faculty of Family Medicine continues to highlight the importance and dire need for a well-established primary care health system in the region.

A glimpse into advocacy efforts, public awareness & education: 1. Dengue: what causes dengue fever, its symptoms & measures to be taken for prevention and control.

2. Childhood cancer awareness month ( September) focuses on early detection of pediatric cancers. In Low middle income countries only 20–30 percent of children survive, compared to more than 80 per cent in high-income countries. This inequity makes it difficult to achieve sustainable development goals and universal health coverage.

3. Osteoporosis, measures to prevent and manage osteoporosis 4. Upping primary healthcare 5. Addressing HIV/AIDS in primary care Exemplar 2: Arogya Arali, a partnership with local government to systemically strengthen rural primary health care in Karnataka, India Written by Nymisha Herrera Nimmagadda, Public Health Consultant Arogya Arali aims to strengthen the delivery of rural primary care through enhanced convergence of Gram Panchayats (GPs) and Primary Health Centers (PHCs). This would be achieved through a system that integrates community health profiles to improve healthcare planning and bring home-based primary care to the communities as well as empower local bodies and existing partnerships at the panchayat level. It is a multistakeholder partnership among the Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, the Academy of Family Physicians of India (AFPI) Karnataka, and civil society and private organizations to achieve greater coordination in improving the health of communities.

Participating in a 3 day family medicine conference, academicians shared their teaching and training experiences of post graduates in family medicine over the past years. Evidence based practices in primary care, outcome of 1 year bridging training programme in family medicine were some of the talks in the session held on 30th Oct 2022.

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Figure 4: Image of MOU - Purpose of crosssector initiative to strengthen local governments towards delivery of decentralized primary care

Figure 5: An image of AFPI team and Gumballi PHC staff after a focus group discussion in Gumballi, Karnataka This process of decentralization of population and community health will make development locally sensitive and participatory thereby, improving health equity, resilience and efficiency.

The pilot includes 6 intervention and 6 control GPs in the Chamarajanagar district to accurately measure whether the initiative can improve the Panchayat Raj Institution’s capacity to gauge public health requirements, expand access to healthcare services and leverage community networks to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations in their communities. After 6 months, a strategic and operational report will be developed with in-depth processes to expand the program to a larger number of villages statewide.

Focus group discussions have been held across 12 Gram Panchayats and 3 PHCs as a qualitative approach to gain an in-depth understanding of the health status of the community. The meetings were attended by all healthcare staff including ASHA workers, Field Nurses, Community Health Officers, Health Inspectors and Primary Care Doctors.

The discussions were focused on staff experiences across different regions, community trust, observations in health patterns and behaviors and feedback on how to improve health service delivery. The engagement was overwhelmingly positive and the staff are energized about the initiative and its potential to support local administration in improving health outcomes.

A preliminary data process was developed and shared with the health teams for data entry. The community health data has been analyzed against state and national averages to understand disease prevalence and comparative health outcomes, and develop a situation analysis. In addition, meetings are scheduled with the Gram Panchayat Task Forces that include government representatives, GP elected members and community leaders and representatives to enhance data-driven decision making at the village level. Sonata software is providing automation of data entry and availability of data at frequent intervals for real-time decision making.

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Additionally, the initiative will bring homebased primary care for early childhood disability, adolescent girls, maternal health, elderly, and members of the community with limited ability to access health centers.

Protocols have been developed based on the data and feedback from GPs and PHCs, and training will be led by the AFPI clinical team with a focus on cross-functional mutual learning. Implementation of the home-based care will be led by the PHC clinical staff with periodic meetings across PHCs to discuss successful strategies and provide feedback to AFPI teams.

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Due to Arogya Aali, a village health profile and dashboard will be available across multiple domains including demographics, health insurance enrollment, NCDs, infectious diseases, maternal and child health, disability and mortality. The initiative will lead to greater convergence of GPs and PHCs with communities at the center of the decision making process. It would also enable GPs to better identify and address the health needs of their communities and facilitate health systems learning from one another at the village level.

The multidisciplinary AFPI team includes Dr Ramakrishna Prasad (President, AFPI, Karnataka), Dr Ashoojit Kaur Anand (Lead, Arogya Arali), Pawan Kaipa (Director, Operations), Nymisha Herrera Nimmagadda (Lead, Public Health Consultant), Nirali Patel (PhD Student, Biostatistics, University of Minnesota), Dr Prathamesh Sawant (Clinical Pharmacist) and Dr Praneeth Pillala (Family Physician).

Exemplar 3: Improving collaborations with academic institutions and family physicians to promote healthy aging - 3rd AFPICON, Karnataka Written by Dr. Harshapriya Jyothinagar, Family Physician and Palliative Medicine consultant with special interest in Geriatrics; General Secretary, AFPI Karnataka In 2019, the number of people aged 60 years and older was 1 billion globally. This number will increase to 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050 (WHO). This increase is occurring at an unprecedented pace and will accelerate in coming decades, particularly in developing countries. India is considered a young country but according to the United Nations, the number of Indians aged 60 and over will double by 2050, constituting about 20% of the total population.

Aging presents both challenges and opportunities. It will increase demand for primary health care and long-term care, require a larger and better trained workforce, intensify the need for physical and social environments to be made more age-friendly.

In addition, aging has significant social and economic implications in terms of direct medical and social care costs, and the costs of informal care. According the WHO Global Strategy on Aging and Health, 2016-2020, the key areas of focus are: change how we think, feel and act towards age and aging ensure that communities foster the abilities of older people deliver person-centered integrated care and primary health services responsive to older people provide access to long-term care for older people who need it Family Physicians are the first point of contact and can proactively assist the elderly in facilitating health and positive aging.

Through preventive care and early diagnosis, serious illnesses can be avoided, thereby reducing financial and economic burden on the population.

To highlight and enhance this process, AFPI Karnataka, one of the largest state chapters, is organizing the 3rd State conference of Academy of Family Physicians of India, Karnataka (AFPICON KA), where healthy aging is a central theme.

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The AFPI team identified the key areas of focus including dementia, positive and healthy aging and physical therapy in geriatrics and forged close collaborations with Dr Prathibha Peirera, Professor & Head of Department of Geriatrics at JSS Medical College, Mysuru, India, to develop the framework for learning and knowledge sharing. In addition, multidisciplinary panel discussions with neurology, psychiatry, orthopedics and physical therapy, family medicine and geriatrics are being held to further discuss the observed health patterns in this population.

The conference will serve as an example of a multidisciplinary approach to better understand and support the aging population. The focus of Family Physicians on the 6 pillars of Aging (Physical,Nutritional,Spiritual,Emotional,Me ntal and Intellectual), with the support of academia can facilitate the development of a robust model that would support individuals and communities. This process will instill a great deal of confidence in an aging individual, which is beneficial to their wellbeing. This approach will enable aging with grace in spite of comorbidities and lead to healthy progression of age.

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WONCA IBEROAMERICANA CIMF ADDRESSES CRISIS IN PERU AND THE REGION From the Ibero-American Confederation of Family and Community Medicine (WONCA Iberoamericana-CIMF), we deeply regret the loss of human lives in the context of social mobilizations in various regions of Peru since December 2022 and express our concern about the violence increase. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the communities and families of the deceased.

As care professionals dedicated to the population's well-being and health being a right threatened by the country's serious situation, we urge the authorities and security forces to take measures and ensure adequate care safely and prevent the increasing deaths in the population due to the cessation of health services in multiple parts of the country and relieve the difficulties faced by healthcare professionals to carry out their work.

Similarly, we call on individuals and social organizations to exercise the right to protest peacefully, avoid violent acts, respect life and maintain serenity. We call on all parties to protect all people's rights, especially those in vulnerable situations and ensure that injured and sick people can receive medical care in a timely manner.

As CIMF, we offer support and help so that the right to health, life, and universal health care prevail. We express our commitment and willingness to support the generation of dialogue and listening processes for peace.

Our countries chronically experience violence and rights violations that inevitably have health repercussions and take lives.

Based on this situation, we periodically witness crises of a social, political or economic order that deteriorate our living conditions and health. The recent attack on democracy in Brazil, the wage demands of doctors in Venezuela and the mobilizations in Spain in defence of the public health system and the right to quality medical care are recent examples of a reality that has become increasingly unstable and permanent if we visualize ourselves as a region.

Our solidarity is with the health teams, family and community doctors, the population of our countries, their children and adolescents, the elderly, and adults who, in apparent good health, carry the weight of supporting families and society with their work and see their mental health falter. With them also our commitment to contribute to the construction of peace, equity and health in our Ibero-American region.

CIMF Executive Committee Presidencia Regional: Jacqueline Ponzo

LEA AQUÍ LA DECLARACIÓN ORIGINAL EN ESPAÑOL

Sociedad Cubana de Medicina Familiar Sociedad Chilena de Medicina Familiar

CIMF CEO Thomas Meoño Martín

Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Medicina Familiar

Honorary Treasurer Marina Almenas

Sociedad Salvadoreña de Medicina Familiar

Southern Vice Presidency Marcela Cuadrado Mesoamerica Vice Presidency Sonia Ortiz Andean Countries Vice Presidency Rosa Villanueva Carrasco

Sociedad Española de Medicina de Familia y Comunitaria Federación Mexicana de Especialistas y Residentes en Medicina Familiar Asociación Nicaragüense de Medicina Familiar

Vice Presidency of Iberia Maria Fernandez Garcia

Sociedad Panameña de Medicina Familiar

Waynakay Representative Gabriela DiCroce

Sociedad Paraguaya de Medicina Familiar National Associations Federación Argentina de Medicina Familiar y General

Sociedad Peruana de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria Associação Portuguesa de Medicina General e Familiar

Sociedad Boliviana de Medicina Familiar Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade

Academia de Médicos de Familia de Puerto Rico Sociedad Dominicana de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria

Sociedad Colombiana de Medicina Familiar Asociación Costarricense de Especialistas en Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria

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Sociedad Uruguaya de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria Sociedad Venezolana de Medicina Familiar

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TRANSFORMING MENTAL HEALTH CARE: WONCA INTRODUCES THE MDD MINDS PROJECT WONCA is proud to announce the launch of the MDD Minds project in collaboration with the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health, and Mosaica Solutions. The overarching goal of this initiative is to improve the quality of care for patients suffering from major depressive disorders in Africa-Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

For two days, the Steering Committee of the Project met to establish milestones, timelines, and plans for the successful execution of the project. As a result, the first stage of the project is now underway.

Representing the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health at the meeting were Chris Dowrick and Christos Lionis. Mary Ales and Shelly Rodrigues represented Mosaica Solutions, while WONCA CEO, Dr Harris Lygidakis and Roberto Munoz, Senior Project & Fundraising Officer coordinated the meeting at WONCA headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Depression is a global issue, as it is now the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Unfortunately, between 50% and 90% of people suffering from depression are not diagnosed or treated properly. The integration of mental health care into primary care, particularly within the field of family medicine, is a priority for international agencies.

The MDD Minds Project aims to strengthen physicians’ competencies and confidence in managing mental health problems while enabling shared decision-making for treating major depressive disorders.

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MDD MINDS FOR PRIMARY CARE

FAQS

Q. WHAT IS MDD MINDS? MDD stands for Major Depressive Disorder.

WONCA is implementing MDD Minds for Primary Care Project, a 30-month project, in collaboration with the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health, and Mosaica Solutions.

Q. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT? The overall goal of this program is to enhance the quality of care for major depressive disorders delivered by family doctors in Africa/Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.

Q. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Depression is a global issue, as it is now the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Unfortunately, between 50% and 90% of people suffering from depression are not diagnosed or treated properly. The integration of mental health care into primary care, particularly within the field of family medicine, is a priority for international agencies.

The MDD Minds Project aims to strengthen physicians’ competencies and confidence in managing mental health problems while enabling shared decision-making for treating major depressive disorders.

Q. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL? By implementing a training course together with a train-the-trainer program and a performance in practice scheme to apply the acquired knowledge and skills.

The training is aimed to increase physician competence in identifying depression and anxiety, educating patients, and employing shared decision-making, selecting appropriate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapy, communicating with specialists in making referrals, and follow-up with patients to revaluate care.

Because of this, the trained physicians will be better equipped to help patients suffering from depression and anxiety.

Q. HOW IS THE PROJECT FUNDED? The funds come from an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer.

Q. HAS THE DONOR ANY INFLUENCE ON THE PROJECT? No, the main characteristic of an unrestricted grant is that the donor, in this case Pfizer, cannot influence any part or stage of the project (including its design, development, implementation, monitoring and dissemination phases), thus always guaranteeing its complete independency and autonomy.

Q. WHO ARE THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROJECT? The ultimate beneficiaries are the patients.

Their family doctor will acquire knowledge, develop skills, and be empowered in the diagnosis and management of MDD.

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PLANETARY HEALTH EDUCATION FOR PRIMARY CARE THEME OF A RECENT ARTICLE PUBLICATION AT LANCET Planetary Health challenges are rising and primary healthcare professionals should be prepared for dealing with it. In February 2023, the article “An international planetary health for primary care massive open online course” was published by Floss et al. at Lancet Planetary Health and analyzed the MOOC Planetary Health for Primary Care created by WONCA Environment and Telessaúde-RS. The publication argues that cost-free, accredited planetary health education for primary care practitioners, like the MOOC, should be provided as a public good that also fulfils individual professionals. The course was written collaboratively by many authors, committed family doctors and other health professionals from all regions of the world, so there are different world perspectives united in the material.

The authors also argue that: “targeting primary care practitioners is important since primary care will be the first line of response for people seeking care when environmental change, destruction, and pollution intensify intersecting risks such as disasters, extreme temperatures, zoonotic disease, and food insecurity.”

It also describes the importance of decommodify planetary health education, and the emphasis of the principle of education as a public good. The article is open and free to access.

REFERENCE Floss, M., Abelsohn, A., Kirk, A., Khoo, S.-M., Saldiva, P. H. N., Umpierre, R. N., McGushin, A., & Yoon, S. (2023). An international planetary health for primary care massive open online course. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(2), e172–e178. https://doi.org/10.1016/S25425196(22)00307-2

A big thanks by the authors to the WONCA community that helped it happen specifically to the WONCA Environment group.

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WWPWFM:

THERE IS NO FORCE MORE POWERFUL THAN A WOMAN DETERMINED TO RISE

#EmbraceEquity Every year on the 8th of March, International women's day is celebrated to uplift, encourage, and influence women across the globe to rise and be the best versions of themselves within every field including social, political, cultural, economic and scientific activities. This year's theme emphasizes the achievement of women who have strived, worked hard and made a name in the field of innovation and technology removing any biases and establishing gender equality. There are so many unsung female heroes that have made significant contributions within innovation and technology and this women's day, we would like to remember all of these heroes.

I have seen inspiring stories everyday on the internet including women who have bounced back into careers after being stay at home mothers for years: Laura Boccanfuso got her PhD in computer sciences and has been the forerunner in creating Al enabled classroom tutors for students to assist children with learning disabilities. Similarly, in the field of science, Jennifer Doudna solved the most complex biological structures using X-ray crystallography and was awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry.

Amongst the youngsters, we have women who have started businesses and upskilled more women to join the workforce through innovation and technology.

Cristina Junqueria cofounded Nubank within fintech to provide services to over 53 million customers. All these women strive towards a common goal: Creating a world where women can dream and make their dreams a reality. This year, let us set examples but also encourage one another to understand the importance of learning and continuously growing On behalf of the WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM), I would first like to thank all female family doctors across the world for their contributions and dedication towards clinical practices especially within women's health and education. The only way we can continually progress is by constanfly challenging ourselves and finding inspiration from each other. May this women's day be our reminder to never give up on our dreams and to ensure that we can also be part of the system that breaks the biases that surround women. Let WONCA set an example of women in medicine advancing and creating transparency, equality and innovation through their actions and efforts.

Let us continue dreaming together, for a dream we have together is what becomes reality.

DR ELIZABETH REJI WWPWFM CHAIR

Photo credit: www.internationalwomensday.com/

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WONCA JOINS PMNCH FOR

UNIVERSAL HEALTH FOR WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS GLOBALLY

BY TEESTA DEY AND ILZE KALNINA

As we cross the half-way point of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Era, progress for ensuring universal access to health and well-being services for women, children and adolescents across the globe, is insufficient to meet the 2030 deadline.

We are proud that World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) has recently become a partner of PMNCH- the world’s largest alliance of > 1,300 partner organisations across 192 countries working in partnership to ensure the universal health and well-being for all women, children and adolescents globally. They bring a hugely important primary health perspective to the ensuing discourse on criticality of Primary Health Care (PHC) within Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

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Skilled and competent health workers are an essential element of a robust wellfunctioning health system . Front-line health care providers have a unique role in identifying and supporting advocacy efforts for critical issues and challenges within women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (WCAH) and well-being.

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Given their immense value, PMNCH has a dedicated constituency to the health care professional associations (HCPA). This constituency comprised of 55 member organizations from 24 countries, including several global associations, such as IPA, ICN, ICM, FIGO, COINN, representing millions of health professionals globally. Within the HCPA constituency, organisations provide immense value in brokering knowledge, engaging with key partners and networks and provide critical direction and voice from ‘the field’ to ensure the success of campaigns advocating for better services, policies and investment in WCAH. The HCPA’s are also critical in promoting accountability for safe, respectful and efficient healthcare services for WCAH. However, the real power of this constituency, lies in the ethos and spirit of crossdisciplinary way of working that has been cultivated within the HCPA constituency.

Organisations across cadres and disciplines have utilised this platform to come together, share their knowledge and ideas and collaborate. The platform has been catalytic in developing transformative ideas and opportunities to progress the agenda for WCAH. Across 2022, the HCPA has led on the development of several key initiatives including Joint statement on Respectful Care as a response to What Women Want and Honouring Women’s Demands paper and Joint statement on health workforce strengthening. This constituency has also provided an invaluable contribution across PMNCH’s knowledge and accountability products, including flagship accountability products, such as the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women, Children and Adolescents’’ Health (2016-2030) progress report “Protect the Promise” launched at the World Health Summit in Berlin.

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Looking forward to 2023 there are several hallmark projects in the pipeline for which the HCPA constituency will be taking an active role. This includes – the upcoming decade update to the Born Too Soon Report to be launched at the AlignMNH conference in Cape Town, South Africa in 8-11th May. HCPA members have been actively contributing to the writing, communication and advocacy of this report. The HCPA’s have also developed statements on climate change and respectful care and 2023 will see a further follow up on these statements. An important hallmark event for PMNCH is 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign which includes the world’s largest convening of young people, to be held in October 2023 as the Global Forum for Adolescents, strongly supported by HCPA. Furthermore, in the year ahead, 2023, will feature a series of high-level discussions including on the occasion of the UHC and the Pandemic-Preparedness High-Level Summits and SDG review Summit in September. These high-level meetings will provide a critical opportunity for the HCPA to engage with a unified voice in promoting critical issues related to WCAH and ensuring that the health workforce is supported and protected.

WONCA’s participation within this dynamic constituency will be invaluable. It is only by working together that we can truly deliver high quality, universal health to every women, child and adolescent.

The HCPA are also active advocates at international fora, and have contributed greatly to flagship events, such as Lives in the Balance Summit in May, and the dedicated health care professional webinar series cohosted with WHO, Children in All Policies 2030, BMJ and PMNCH on marketing of formula milk in September.

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ALL HANDS ON DECK:

CO-DEVELOPING THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS The OECD's Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS) initiative aims to measure outcomes and experiences of healthcare as part of an effort to improve the value of health system investments. The PaRIS survey, a survey of people living with chronic conditions, is currently being implemented in twenty countries. The PaRIS survey has been developed together with government officials, patients, providers, and researchers.

However, the extent of stakeholder involvement varies between countries.

This paper reports on the stakeholder engagement in design, development and implementation of the PaRIS survey Field Trial in seventeen countries. Engagement strategies were analysed by target group (patients, providers, or other stakeholders), and engagement level (co-designing, involving, consulting, and informing).

The results provide valuable lessons for the implementation of the full PaRIS survey in 2023 and illustrate how stakeholders could be more actively engaged in health services research and policymaking.

Author(s) Candan Kendir, Rushay Naik, Janika Bloemeke, Katherine de Bienassis, Nicolas Larrain, Niek Klazinga, Frederico Guanais and Michael van den Berg DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENT AT THE OECD HEALTH WORKING PAPERS

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YDM REPRESENTATIVE REPORT

WONCA NEWS

YDM YOUNG DOCTORS' MOVEMENTS

June 2022 - December 2022 WONCA's Young Doctors' representative on World Executive, Dr Sankha Randenikumara (Sri Lanka) is coordinating regular news from our seven region Young Doctors' Movements.

Contributions to the CPD activities I physically attended three conferences within this period, namely WONCA Europe Conference in London, UK, WONCA EMR Conference in Muscat, Oman and WONCA APR Conference in Bali, Indonesia and, actively participated in young doctors' events took place in those conferences.

I was invited to speak in several events and these opportunities were used to promote family medicine and YDMs among the early career doctors. Some of those events were; World Medical Association(WMA) Junior Doctors’ Network (JDN) Fall (October) Rural Seeds Ambassador Induction (October) Al-Razi Preconference in WONCA EMR Conference (November) Waynakay Preconference in WONCA Iberoamerican Summit (November) o Rajakumar Preconference in WONCA APR Conference (December)

YDM-WP/SIG COLLABORATIVE WEBINAR SERIES Two joint webinars with the WONCA WPs/SIGs have been conducted in this period. Waynakay Movement collaborated with the WONCA WP on the Environment in September and the Rajakumar Movement in November with SIG on Aging and Health.

Astana Declaration Anniversary Celebrations (20th - 26th of October 2022)

YDM collaborations with WPs/SIGs YOUNG DOCTOR LIAISONS IN WPS/SIGS As per our request, following WONCA WPs/SIGs now have young doctor liaisons in their executive committees: WPs on Education & Mental Health and SIGs on Emergency Medicine, Health Equity & Family Violence. Young doctor liaisons were selected by an open application process.

On the 4th Anniversary of Astana Declaration, WONCA YDM collaborated with the WMA JDN and young doctors of African Forum for Primary Health Care (AfroPHC) to launch a social media campaign to raise awareness and increase the commitment of young doctors to strengthen primary health care through their action. WONCA extended the social media campaign to all its membership by introducing a special ‘Astana Anniversary profile picture frame’ for social media users.

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The social media campaign was a great success with high number of post reaches and post engagements in all social media handles, reflecting the young doctors’ willingness to commit to primary health care towards a promising future.

WONCA World Conference, Sydney 2023 I am attending the RACGP-WONCA 2023 International Advisory Committee meetings continuously and contributing for the next world conference's organizing work.

YDM is getting ready for the YDM Preconference at the WONCA Sydney by appointing a committee representing all regional YDMs.

Join your region's Young Doctors' Movement

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AL RAZI MOVEMENT June 2022 - December 2022 Al Razi Preconference Workshop during WONCA EMR Regional Conference Muscat 10-12 Nov 2022 Al Razi team was actively involved in the preparation of the WONCA EMR Regional conference through the organization and presentation of Al Razi Pre-conference Workshops. A small working group has been developed, led by Al Razi Chair Anas Almohtaseb, and included Adel Yaski, Samiah Almehamdi and Hella AlOthman (Saudi Arabia), Nouf Al Noun (UAE), Ahmad Al Hanashi and Basim Aljahwari (Oman), Dana Aldaghlise and Mahmoud Sqour (Jordan), and Tasneem Yahya (Palestine). Four workshops were conducted (1 hour each) at the beginning of the first and second days of the conference. In Addition to that Al Razi Chair, being a member of the Scientific Committee of the conference, participated in reviewing the submitted abstracts.

Al Razi Members and Executive Group, WONCA EMR Executive Group, and YDM Lead Committee: Al Razi Council: New Members (Since Nov 2022): Marwa Alraisi (Oman), Omar Alshammari (Kuwait), Yousef Rizq (Lebanon). Thanks for Ahmad Al Hanashi, Ahmad Fakhreddine, and Reina Alameddine, respectively, for their effort during their term in Al Razi. Other Membership: 1. E-Health WP: Adel Yaski, 2. ASPIRE Group: Beesan Maraqa (Palestine). Al Razi Meetings: Three meetings from August to Dec 2022.

WONCA EMR: Anas attended all meetings of the executive group of WONCA EMR, the latest was in Muscat Nov 2022.

YDM Lead: Anas & Reina attended all meetings of YDM Leads. Anas participated with subgroup in reviewing the bylaw.

Running the series “Meeting the experts” webinars: • Primary Care Indicators in Muscat Governorate was conducted on 4th June 2022. The webinar was prepared by Reina and Adel and presented by Ahmed Al Hanashi.

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Celebrating some global events (1) Astana Declaration Anniversary: Anas, Adel, and Dana. (2) Universal Health Coverage Day: Anas.

Others: Al Razi Bylaw Revision: a working group has been developed (Beesan, Adel, and Marwa) to review the bylaw, provide amendments and submit it for endorsement by WONCA EMR Council.

Preparation for Al Razi Council meeting and election of new Al Razi Chair: discussions have been made to call for Al Razi Council meeting within the next few months, to elect the new chair of Al Razi, and some other executive group members who left Al Razi.

Preparation and presenting the “Research Methods” training course: 12 young family doctors from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco completed the 14-hour online course (7 sessions, 2 hours each) from 28th May 2022 to 20th August 2022. The activity was led by Beesan and the trainer is Dr. Zaher Nazzal, Community Medicine Specialist at Al-Najah National University - Nabulus, Palestine.

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Extra Local Teams Activities Egypt: (1) The team conducted several scientific activities (2) participated in multiple medical campaign in rural areas, and (3) participated in three scientific publications. Palestine: (1) Growing of Al Razi/Palestine team by extra 10 members since May 2022 (total 85 members). (3) Monthly scientific day, in collaboration with PAFM and Palestinian MoH. Jordan: (1) Family medicine during COVID: impact of COVID on women (a webinar). (2) Jordanian board of family medicine (an online workshop). (3) How to manage a GP clinic (a training course with Jordan Medical Association). (4). Community awareness campaign about breast cancer. (5) participation in Family Medicine Scientific Day, organized by Jordanian Family Medicine Society.

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Young Doctors' Movements

EUROPEAN YOUNG FAMILY DOCTORS MOVEMENT June 2022 - December 2022

EYFDM does not know how to be quiet it seems. We have had another busy time since June!

Firstly, I would like to announce that we have elected our new President-Elect, Stuart Holmes from the UK, who will take over as President from Nick Mamo at WONCA Europe conference in Brussels in June 2023. We also elected Aaron Poppleton from the UK to serve as the EYFDM Liaison to WONCA Europe, serving also on the WONCA Europe Executive.

In June we made quite a lot of noise in London. We had a fantastic Pre-Conference with fruitful plenaries and workshops, and a lot of strong connections were formed as our community continues to grow.

During the conference we had a very well received Plenary session with Marina JoticIvanovic from Bosnia&Herzegovina, Julien Artigny from Martinique/France and Nick Mamo from Malta/UK. We also raised a record €4600 for our Bursary Fund to support young GPs especially from lower income countries to participate at WONCA Europe and EYFDM events, thanks especially to all those who donated, and to Marta Kurdzielewicz, our Awards and Fundraising Officer! We also had our annual Junior Researcher Award, won this year by Aaron Poppleton from the UK! In September our Executive Group met in Wrocław, Poland to discuss where we are, and to plan the year ahead.

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In October, together with the other Young Doctor Movements (WONCA) we collaborated with actively contributed to the Junior Doctors’ Network (WMA) campaign to mark the Astana Declaration Anniversary.

After the challenges of the COVID pandemic, our Exchange programme has been picking up again thanks to the hard work of Rocio Garcia-Gutierrez Gomez, our Exchange Officer, and her fantastic team of National Exchange Coordinators! We had a very successful pre-conference exchange in Doboj, Bosnia & Herzegovina in September and we also saw the return of the Balearic Meeting including its pre-conference exchange in October.

Since the conference in London we also started advocating more strongly for better access to events for families and parents with kids. This is an ongoing process and the support we have seen for this is highly encouraging! Ana Cristina Franco Spinola, our Policy Officer has taken this on as part of a wider Accessibility Policy with great energy and we look forward to the progress we can make in this area.

We have also restarted our Bridge Project, an Exchanges-ASPIRE collaboration with over 30 new participants signing up from all over the world for this round! We are looking forward to see the ideas and projects they develop!

Finally, we have been preparing for a council meeting in January of 2023 where we will be discussing the future of our organisation, the bylaws that govern our organisation as well as our logo and website, on which Marta Kurdzielewicz (our Awards&Fundraising Officer) and Chris Rechtenwald (our Image Officer) have both been working hard. We will also be hearing from the team organising our upcoming Pre-Conference in Brussels in June 2023! We hope to see many of you there!

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Young Doctors' Movements

POLARIS

June 2022 - December 2022 Over the last six months, Family Medicine Early Career Physicians, Residents and Medical Students in our Polaris region have continued to immerse themselves into full scope family practice, while continuing to support their patients, colleagues and local/broader communities. Our members continue to partake in diverse initiatives and play various leadership roles, in addition to their clinical responsibilities, across our region. Our Polaris Chair, Rohini Pasricha, shared her insights on increasing family medicine engagement and recruitment as a panelist speaker at the Family Medicine Forum 2022 in Toronto, Canada. Our USA colleagues had a successful pre-conference global health summit prior to FMX 2022 held in Washington D.C. in September 2022. As well, they continue to work hard in preparing a quarterly global health webinar series that will be available for everyone to view.

To illustrate the broad scope of clinical practice in which our physicians, residents, and medical students work and learn, we have continued to develop our spotlight of the month campaign using our social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook: @woncapolaris), highlighting the clinical and non-clinical activities of one individual in our region each month. As well, we have developed a “debunking myths in family medicine” campaign to help increase awareness on what the field of family medicine entails. Our hope is to break down common misconceptions and broaden our understanding of what family medicine has to offer.

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Our Polaris executive team has also continued to develop quarterly newsletters that highlight relevant topics in family medicine. Our most recent issue was released in December 2022 and focuses on the theme of migrant health. In the coming year, we will be preparing a mentorship program for our Polaris members that allows for mentors and mentees to engage in “coffee-chat” conversations with one another and exchange experiences, interests, and learn from one another.

Congratulations Brunèe Dorsett Our very own Brunèe Dorsett (Vice President of WONCA Polaris and Caribbean representative) has been selected to serve as the YDM representative on the WONCA Working Party on Education. Brunèe brings a range of leadership skills and expertise to this role, previously serving as her school’s Family Medicine Chief Resident, helping to develop weekly academic resident sessions, and initiating a resident mentorship program for her school’s family medicine residency program. We congratulate her and wish her all the best as she takes on this new role!

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Young Doctors' Movements

THE RAJAKUMAR MOVEMENT June 2022 - December 2022 The second half of the year is filled with many exciting activities. The Executive and Council of The Rajakumar Movement (TRM) has been working hard to plan and prepare.

July 2022 We had our first collaboration webinar with WONCA Working Party / Special Interest Group for this year. TRM is honoured to work together with the distinguished WONCA Working Party for Mental Health in organizing a webinar on Mental Health in Primary Care: Clinical Depression on 2nd July 2022 (Saturday), 8.00pm (Malaysia Time). We had two renowned speakers Dr Darien and Dr Flavio shared with us on depression. Patient with depression can present with somatic or cultural expressions of their psychological distress. Some of the challenges in identifying depression in primary care are limitation of time, competing priorities and patient agendas. We can help our patient with depression by administering Low intensity psychosocial interventions (LIPI). It is simple and effective!

September 2022 The Rajakumar Movement Research Group had successfully organized a Panel Discussion on September. It was an excellent discussion by the expert panelists: Assoc.

Prof Dr Indah Widyahening, Assist. Prof Dr Tin Myo Han and Dr Maria Elinore M AlbaConcha. The sharing and lessons learned were invaluable. Thank you to TRM team for the great teamwork and support.

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WONCA NEWS

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TRM participated and supported the activity

by WONCA YDM. We joined the Webinar Series 1 on The Young Family Doctor and Environmental Changes organized by Movimiento Waynakay in collaboration with the Working Party on the Environment. Dr Chloe Chan, our TRM representative from Hong Kong assisted in the translation to Chinese. Well done to the team. It was a wonderful sharing by all the expert panelists.

October 2022 Despite the unforeseen challenges, the Virtual FM360 Exchange of The Spice Route and The Rajakumar Movement (TRM) was successfully held. It was a great collaboration with informative presentation and video showcase of Primary Care / Family Medicine practices in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Thank you Dr Sankha Randenikumara for the opening remarks.

Special thanks to Dr Suthiwat Khumngoen and Dr Gobith Ratnam for leading the event.

For TRM, the presentation started with a moment of silence as a respect for the demise of Professor Datuk Dr DM Mahendran Thuraiappah, who was very instrumental in the formation of TRM and contributed vastly in Primary Care. He will be remembered and missed dearly.

M O V E M E N T S

Dr Teoh Hong Chin represented Malaysia and shared a very nice video on the Private General Practice. Dr Suthiwat Khumngoen never failed to amaze everyone with his creativity and video for Thailand. Our friends from The Spice Route shared wonderful videos on the Primary Care in India, Pakistan.

Many thanks to all presenters, facilitators and participants.

TRM supported and participated in the posting statements by YDM WONCA in conjunction with Astana Declaration Anniversary.

Global young doctors committed to strive for Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals by strengthening primary healthcare!

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M O V E M E N T S

November 2022 The Rajakumar Movement organized a wonderful collaborative webinar on Fall in older persons with WONCA Special Interest Group (SIG) on Ageing and Health. We are grateful to have the Convenor, Prof Dr Constance Dimity Pond, and SIG expert members Prof Dr Saniya Sabzwari, Dr Mercy Nafula Wanjala and Prof Dr Ngaire Kerse to share with us on the assessment of fall in older adults, prevention of falls: QI & Patient Safety Approach and setting up aged care and hospitals. It was an informative webinar as Family Doctors deals with falls (from prevention, treatment, audit to research).

The webinar was well attended by friends, colleagues and seniors from the Asia Pacific Region as well as from other regions. Thank you Dr Sankha Randenikumara for the opening remarks. Special thanks to all TRM team and translators (Dr Brando Cantu and Dr Chloe Chan).

December 2022 TRM in Bali, Indonesia More than 3 years after the last face-to-face young doctors’ pre-conference in the AsiaPacific region in Kyoto in 2019, The Rajakumar Movement (TRM), through the Indonesian representative, Dr. Marshell Timotius, successfully organized the young doctors pre-conference and networking dinner during the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Bali on 5 December 2022 with the theme “Build Your Future as a Family Medicine Specialist.”

Associate Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohammad Husni Jamal, President of the WONCA Asia Pacific Region opened the session and urged TRM to continue expanding the horizon for the young family doctors in the Asia Pacific region and in the world.

Dr. Wong Ping Foo, chair of TRM delivered a welcome message virtually and expressed his gratitude to the organizing committee and participants.

Then, Dr. Sankha Randenikumara, young doctor representative to the WONCA World, shared his thoughts on FM speciality and about various young doctors’ movements in the world.

For session 1: Young Doctors Movement in the Asia Pacific Region, Dr. Mel Anthony Acuavera, secretary of TRM, shared the mission and programs of TRM and urged young doctors from the Asia Pacific Region to continue supporting the activities of the movement. Dr. Suthiwat Khumngoen, Thailand representative, shared the numerous and amazing activities of the young doctors in Thailand. While Dr. Phoebe Holdenson-Kimura and Dr. Wee Sian Woon presented virtually the activities of the young doctors in Australia and invited all to attend the WONCA World Conference in Sydney on 26-29 October 2023.

This was followed by session 2: Professional Sharing on Family Medicine Practice. Dr. Mya Win Hnit, Myanmar representative, shared the family medicine education, its challenges, the opportunities and his practice as a young family doctor in Myanmar. Dr. Elaine Chua and Dr. Grace Chiang shared the progress of family medicine and their professional experiences as family doctors in Singapore.

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Additionally, Dr. Fitriana Ekawati shared the family medicine education, challenges and opportunities in family practice in Indonesia.

This was followed by a small group discussion wherein the participants had the opportunity to share their own experiences, challenges and opportunities as young family doctors in their own countries.

M O V E M E N T S

Finally, for session 3, Dr. Darien Cipta, discussed the importance of maintaining wellbeing and mental health for young doctors. Dr. Cipta shared steps and tips on reducing stress and taking care of mental health.

Dr. Isti Ilmiati Fujiati, Chair of the Indonesian Association of Family Physicians closed the session and formally launched, together with Dr. Marshell Timotius, the Indonesia young doctors’ movement.

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WONCA NEWS

To cap off the pre-conference,TRM, through Dr. Erfen Suwangto, immediate past chair of TRM, organized the networking dinner wherein the young doctors had the opportunity to get-to-know each other and shared their experiences as young family doctors. They also shared their talents through song and dance presentations and enjoyed the various games.

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WONCA NEWS

Young Doctors' Movements

THE SPICE ROUTE MOVEMENT June 2022 - December 2022

1. Important Day Celebration

3. MRCGP Scholarship

The Spice Route South Asia council has selected important days to be celebrated at South Asia level to increase awareness. In the second half of 2022, we celebrated World Hepatitis Day by Nepal, World Mental Health Day by Bhutan and World Diabetes Day by Pakistan.

The MRCGP (INT) has agreed to provide financial assistance to the young doctors of the region willing to attend WONCA Conference in Sydney, Australia provided their abstract gets accepted. The flyer has been circulated in various social media platforms for young doctors to apply

2. Virtual FM 360 Exchange Program

4. Spice Route Exchange Guidelines

FM 360 exchange program was done on 21st October between the Rajkumar movement and the Spice Route movement. Opening remark was introduction through a video by TRM and TSR. This was followed by video presentations from Malaysia and Thailand of the Rajkumar Movement and from India and Pakistan of the Spice Route Movement. It was an interactive session with Question and Answers session in the end by the participants

Similar to the European exchange program, conducted within the European countries, it was decided by the SAR council start having inter country exchange programs within the 6 nations of Spice Route SAR. The FM 360 Exchange team led by Gobith has devised guidelines for the Exchange Program. The FM360 Exchange team led by Gobith is assigned to devise a guideline comprising the brief outline on the duration of exchange, amount of bursary etc.

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5. Regular meetings The Country leads of the Spice Route Council regularly meets virtually via Skype every second Sunday of the month to discuss and plan the future activities. Also, regular CPD activities for young doctors of their respective countries have been organized by Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan by the name of GPs’ Café, Spice Route Classroom and The Lounge, respectively.

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Young Doctors' Movements

MOVIMIENTO WAYNAKAY

June 2022 - December 2022 The next pages gather together a compilation of the reports presented about Waynakay Movement activities during the last triennium.

There have been multiple meetings and meetings with various countries of the movement, reinforcing the joint work with national associations.

Representatives of countries incorporated into Waynakay, participated in the attention for COVID-19.

In Waynakay Mexico has focused on continuing medical education, for which a course-workshop on the development of research protocols was created, in order to support residents in the development of their protocols, with asynchronous sessions and a weekly live session where a weekly summary was addressed and they cleared doubted, in addition to the use of a platform where progress of the protocols of each participant was monitored.

Being a specialist in Family Medicine, forces us to know the context in which the family develops, its traditions, culture, history, food, which can be risk factors, not only in Mexico, but also in other Latin American countries, that is why Waynakay Mexico supports the work of our Panamanian brothers.

Recognition is made of the people who currently accredit their certification as medical specialists in Family Medicine.

Waynakay Mexico has worked with monthly academic sessions, where the speakers of the sessions are members of the Waynakay movement. With this we promote the early participation of the Young Doctor's.

In Mexico, the trimestral newsletter was carried out by the coordination of Editorial

by Dr. Clara Gómez, where articles are reviewed, the experiences of Waynakay members in their professional practice are written and the projects to be carried out in the next trimester are reported.

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Exhibition about the Waynakay movement to the teaching department of the Family Medicine Residency Program of the Republic of Panama.

Formation of national committees within the active members of the movement.

Presence during the XIII Panamanian Congress of Family Medicine "APS more important than ever" on May 26, 27 and 28, 2022 where an advertising banner with the Waynakay Panama logo was placed and shared with the attendees of the congress on the philosophy of the movement.

We participated together with authorities of the Social Security Fund of Panama in a community activity on prevention of cardiovascular diseases in July 2022.

Support in the organization in conjunction with the Panamanian Association of Family Medicine of the seminar to medical students that took place on July 30, 2022 where the following topics were:

M O V E M E N T S

The theme of communications throughout the movement has been reinforced, the first strength being social networks, emphasizing publications on days of commemoration of some conditions such as chronic degenerative and cancer.

In September, we participated with the organization of the WONCA YDM-WP/SIG Webinar, with the central theme of "The Young Family Physician and Environmental Challenges".

In November, the Waynakay movement participated in the VIII Ibero-American Summit of Family and Community Medicine "Family and Community Medicine, an essential specialty for the transformation of health systems in the XXI century". Active participation was carried out with interventions in presentations and work tables.

• Management of hypertension Choosing therapeutics • Hypothyroidism • Screening for chronic kidney disease • Workshop - integrated clinical case

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N E W S

WONCA NEWS

6TH EMIRATES FAMILY MEDICINE SOCIETY CONGRESS 16 - 19 MARCH 2023 EFMS PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

WELCOME

On behalf of the Emirates Family Medicine Society, we would like to heartily invite you, society members, annual congress delegates, esteemed faculty, committees and industry partners and friends to explore the society website, created as a platform to maintain connectivity and high standards among physicians who practice family medicine and realize that a family doctor’s effectiveness depends on up-to-date continuing education.

We sincerely hope that you will make the most out of your journey through this website and its content and look forward to meeting you all for many memorably valuable experiences as members of the society!

We are proud of the exclusive scientific partnership between our society and its international scientific partners, the Royal Australian College of GPs, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Canadian College of Family Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the UK Royal College of GPs, which is built on a longterm mutual collaboration, and would like to invite all interested physicians and healthcare professionals to join us in furthering the profession of the family medicine doctor by continuously developing their knowledge, skills and practice while staying connected through their membership in the society.

Your support towards the fulfillment of our mission to ensure that physicians in this region have access to quality continuing medical education, expertise and skills for providing comprehensive healthcare to patients of all ages, genders and diseases is of utmost importance to our society and to the vision of the Emirates Medical Association for the UAE and beyond.

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Yours truly, Dr. Wadeia Sharief President of Emirates Family Medicine Society

M E M B E R

O R G A N I Z A T I O N

N E W S

SINGAPORE PRIMARY CARE CONFERENCE 2023 3 - 4 MARCH 2023 Singapore Primary Care Conference 2023 is the first ever standalone conference for primary care providers in Singapore, which is made possible through the close collaboration between the College of Family Physicians Singapore (CFPS) and the 3 polyclinic clusters, namely National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP), National University Polyclinics (NUP) and SingHealth Polyclinics (SHP).

This is reflected in the theme of our conference, “Strength in Unity: New Frontiers in Primary Care”. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of a robust primary care within the healthcare system.

We have worked hand-in-hand to battle the COVID-19 virus, and we have responded well to these challenges.

With the launch of the Healthier SG strategy, our primary care providers will be the key stakeholders to build a more robust, responsive and sustainable healthcare system for the population. It is opportune that we come together to learn, network and envision the future in these exciting times of primary care transformation.

Our conference brings together primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals working in primary care from across the region and will cover a wide range of topics relevant to primary care practice, now and in the future. Renowned local and international experts will share with us care models of the future, innovation and technology in primary care, together with latest clinical updates on common conditions encountered in the primary care setting.

The conference dinner will be an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends, develop new friendships and networks, and celebrate the achievements of our Primary Care colleagues.

We hope to see you at our Singapore Primary Care Conference 2023!

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WONCA NEWS

A N N O U N C E M E N T S &

U P D A T E S

DISCOVER THE EUROPREV ELEARNING WEBINARS 2023 Discover the EUROPREV e-learning webinars 2023, a FREE medical education activity.

EUROPREV e-learning aims to debate interesting topics related to preventive medicine from a very practical perspective.

With a focus on preventive medicine, these webinars will offer practical insights and encourage open discussion on a variety of relevant topics. You'll have the chance to engage with other participants and share your thoughts and questions through the live chat function.

Each module will last for 90 minutes. This will be a continuing medical education activity and for colleagues attending the 4 Modules, a Certificate of Attendance corresponding to a 6-hour training activity will be issued.

FIND MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTER HERE

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WONCA NEWS

A N N O U N C E M E N T S &

WONCA NEWS

U P D A T E S

LSHTM WEBINAR SERIERS: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: THE HEART OF EVERY HEALTH SYSTEM The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) invites you to a ten-part seminar series that will run from October 2022 to July 2023.

The series provides an overview of the key features and functions of PHC, the potential of PHC in all health systems and its role in achieving universal health coverage. Sessions draw on examples across different settings.

For more details and joining instructions follow links" with "For more details, joining instructions and recordings of previous events follow links: 12.45 – 13.45, Wed 5 Oct 2022: Panel Discussion. Primary Health Care: The heart of every health system?

12.45 – 13.45, Wed 2 Nov 2022, What is Primary Health Care?

12.45 – 13.45, Wed 7 Dec 2020, Achieving Primary Health Care through Multisectoral Action and Policy 12.45 – 13.45, Wed Jan 2023, Empowering People and Communities Feb 2023, Integrating Primary Care and Public Health - CANCELLED 12.45 – 13.45, Wed 8 Mar 2023, Financing Primary Care 12.45 – 13.45, Wed 26 Apr 2023, Getting the Primary Care Workforce right May 2023, Holding it together: Primary Care Infrastructure Jun 2023, Measuring, regulating, and improving Primary Care Jul 23, Panel Discussion: Primary Health Care at the heart of every health system - an achievable dream?

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A N N O U N C E M E N T S &

WONCA NEWS

U P D A T E S

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE

VIRTUAL TORONTO INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM TO STRENGTHEN FAMILY MEDICINE AND PRIMARY CARE (V-TIPS) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The virtual edition of the Toronto International Program to Strengthen Family Medicine and Primary Care (V-TIPS) is informed by nearly a decade of engagement with international family medicine leaders and champions through our yearly in-person TIPs-FM program. The virtual program provides an overview of how to leverage excellence in education, research, clinical services and leadership to deliver high quality family medicine globally, by sharing experience and building on lessons learned at the DFCM, in Canada and around the world.

Taught by faculty leaders from the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) and international guest faculty, this year's program will run from March 29 - June 14, 2023.

V-TIPS is delivered over 12 weeks through asynchronous and synchronous sessions with a focus on collaborative learning. The program includes weekly readings, pre-recorded videos, and a weekly 90-minute session delivered live on Zoom on Wednesdays at 7am EST. Where indicated, weekly synchronous sessions are recorded for future reference. In addition, biweekly drop-in sessions will be offere

PROGRAM GOAL This program will enable participants to strengthen family medicine (FM) and comprehensive primary care (CPC) in their own setting through state-of-the-art education, evidence-informed high-quality care and transformative leadership.

AUDIENCE V-TIPS is a program for current and emerging leaders in the areas of health services delivery, policy and academia interested in strengthening family medicine and comprehensive primary care as a core element of health systems.

FIND MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTER NOW!

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