WONCA News August - September 2023

VOL 49 | NUMBER 7

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Y E A R S

NEWS

2023

A U G U S T S E P T E M B E R T H I S

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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

CONTENT FROM THE PRESIDENT

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WONCA SYDNEY HOC CHAIR: MAY 2023

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WONCA CONFERENCES

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WONCA SYDNEY 2023 SAVE THE DATES

WONCA & WHO NEWS

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRIMARY HEALTH CARE POLICY AND PRACTICE LAUNCH OF WHO/OHCHR MENTAL HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS & LEGISLATION

WONCA REGIONS

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WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA MEETING WONCA EMR NEWS: AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2023 CULTURAL IMPACT: LIFESTYLE AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT

WP & SIGS NEWS

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A CALL FROM FAMILY DOCTORS TO SECURE A JUST AND EQUITABLE TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND SAFEGUARD HEALTH FROM THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY WONCA WP ON RURAL PRACTICE: BRICKS ON RURAL AND PLANETARY HEALTH LAUNCHED WONCA WP ON MENTAL HEALTH: MDD MINDS FOR PRIMARY CARE 2ND MEETING: A TRANSFORMATIVE PATH FORWARD WONCA WP ON WOMEN & FAMILY MEDICINE: EMBRACING THE BROAD DEFINITION OF WOMEN’S HEALTH WONCA SIG ON POLICY ADVOCACY PLANNING THE NEXT BIENNIUM

YOUNG DOCTORS’ MOVEMENTS REPORT

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WONCA EDITOR MARIA DOLORES ZAVALA EMAIL: EDITOR@WONCA.NET

FEATURED STORIES

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TRANSLATIONS DR JIE GU DR HUA YANG

ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES

WORLD PATIENT SAFETY DAY 2023

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FROM THE PRESIDENT F O R

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G O O D

“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.”

– Author Unknown

I receive no payment for my work as President of WONCA.

Did you know that? Everyone in the nonprofit organization of WONCA works as a volunteer, except those doing the Secretariat functions.

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

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

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WONCA depends on volunteers to take on the elected positions, to work on the professional development of our discipline, to run our meetings, to plan and run our conferences, etc. All of this is carried out in addition to - or after- our day jobs, the ones that bring home the bacon, or the falafel if you prefer.

VOLUNTEERING GLITTERS, ONLY NOT LIKE GOLD

Some people are shocked to hear this, particularly when they realize how much work our positions entail. Some have even seemed suspicious of me, as if I must be up to something.

I won't deny wishing WONCA and I had bigger budgets! I’ve known that my 24/7 volunteer WONCA Presidency cuts into my Oslo G.P. practice income, and that my traveling takes me from my patients, family, and friends. Yet I continue to choose to volunteer because the work has value that goes beyond and outside what we think of when we evaluate in terms of money, as we do in the ordinary job market.

Well, I am. I earn a lot from my WONCA work – not in the currency of money but in meaning. The Latin term used when offering services without remuneration – pro bono – translates to: “for the common good.”

Thus, it’s for my own good as well. We are all in this together.

EXPENDITURES Here is Wehner & Mieg’s 2022 definition of volunteer work: …non-profit activity including unpaid, selforganized or institutionally organized, socially oriented work… a personal, nonprofit commitment that is connected with a regular, project- or event-related expenditure of time.

As with all non-profits, WONCA’s financial resources are limited. WONCA must nonetheless be represented, in person, at a wide range of arenas around the globe. As one of WONCA’s leaders I can tell you how frustrating it is to search for funds to cover travel and accommodation expenses for members willing to represent our global community at meetings and summits.

Volunteers don’t get paid, but nor should we expect them to empty their pockets to do the work. That’s one of the reasons that we’ve put the developing of income streams and the sustaining of WONCA`s finances among the main objectives of the Strategic Plan we’ll present to the WONCA World Council in October.

WONCA’s finances may be limited, but our human resources are vast – we’re more than half a million Family Doctors, spread over seven regions covering much of the globe.

You might call that our social capital.

T. Schnell has a good overview of volunteering as meaningful work in the 2020 book, The Psychology of Meaning in Life. It is significant – impacting on the action (or inaction) characterizing our life choices. It helps reveal purpose – “serving as a compass…[when] making decisions and choosing goals.” It adds a quality of coherence – helping us make sense of our choices. It heightens our sense of belonging – seeing ourselves as “…part of something larger than the self, as having a place in this world.”

To the list of pleasures that volunteer work can offer, Mehner & Mieg add increased autonomy – having control over the timing and pace of our attention. And it is deeply social – an aspect of what one writer described as “the paradox of meaningful work” because it’s a way of being with others that helps us reach more deeply into ourselves.

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VOLUNTEERING CAN ALSO “ENRICH” YOUR DAY JOB In short, volunteer work is different from paid work – a freer, more autonomous, independent activity. Yet its meaning and value are not limited to these intrinsic benefits.

The coordination of volunteer work with gainful employment is no trivial pursuit.

Many WONCA members who hold posts as elected officers, as well as those who are active in Working Parties and Special Interest Groups, also hold academic posts. Their WONCA work overlaps with and often enhances the professional interests they hold within their own fields – that is, in their day jobs. That can make volunteering a win-winwin situation for all three parties: the individual, the employer, and for WONCA.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN Let me thank all of you who put yourselves forward, investing your time and energy in the development of Family Medicine. Many of you have full or part time jobs in academia, and some are also engaged in work within other organizations. While we who wear the WONCA hat are committed to WONCA, we appreciate the synergies that develop as we work with other stakeholders toward the shared aim of promoting and developing Family Medicine and Primary Care.

The WONCA World Council is coming soon, with elections of new (volunteer!) officers at both the global and regional levels. Officers will be appointed to the Statutory Committees of Membership, By-laws, Finances, and Organizational Equity. Chairs and Convenors of Working Groups will take office.

Until then, please give some thought to: What do we learn from work in general, and from volunteering specifically vs. working within a system of paid employment?

Volunteer work constitutes a non-profit system that adds value to society, for example as social capital. What terms that aren’t tied to “monetizing” might explain and communicate this?

Volunteer work is a meaningful activity.

What are your personal, underlying motivations for engaging in it?

What roles in WONCA might you want to volunteer for?

Let`s continue developing our culture of volunteering together. It’s a privilege to work with colleagues pro bono – for the greater good. The esprit de corps that often emerges is exhilarating – and contagious!

D R

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

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Gidday to my colleagues around the world!

WONCA World is getting close now. In this edition I will be celebrating three rebels of Family Medicine who have moved and shaken our profession!

At this conference, I am excited to be a part of a wonderful session on Generalism, the brainchild of the President of the Australian Society of Psychological Medicine, and RACGP member, Dr Johanna Lynch. This session will have thoughtful, brilliant insights from the wonderful Professor Kurt Stange, Professor Larry Green and Professor Joanne Reeve.

Preserving Generalism is the task of our age.

Defending against the commercial determinants of health, along with the continued focus on the social determinants of health remains an important part of Family Medicine advocacy in policy settings.

WONCA NEWS

We will also have a wonderful display by Associate Professor Christopher Hogan, celebrating the 50th anniversary of WONCA. Former CEO of WONCA, and our first rebel, Dr Wes Fabb will be in attendance. We must not forget what rebels our early history makers were to form an international community and establish the academic credentials of General Practice and Family medicine.

Michael Kidd pays tribute to Dr Fabb on the WONCA website HERE.

“Wes served WONCA with distinction for more than a quarter of a century, first as our honorary secretary and then as our first chief executive officer until his retirement in 2001.”

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We are also excited to learn that our second rebel, Emeritus Professor John Murtagh will be attending Sydney WONCA. John is a celebrated international figure of medical education fame and from my own department of General Practice at Monash University. A rebel himself, Professor Murtagh and many colleagues, brought General Practice into the resisting University curriculum. Thank you, Professor Murtagh!

This month we will spotlight another luminary, our third fearless rebel, Professor Trish Greenhalgh. I visited Professor Greenhalgh in the wonderful Radcliffe Observatory building at Oxford in July 2022 to invite her to present at WONCA. This was at the same time as the London WONCA Europe conference where I met many WONCA members at the huge EXCEL building in London. Professor Greenhalgh has been a rebel for Covid and is highly visible on social media which is a fabulous gift and legacy.

Health communication was critical and a rebellious act against a dedicated counterculture of misinformation during Covid. Come and hear her plenary!

Due to popular demand, we are expanding our social capacity and the GALA dinner will be moved to a larger venue to accommodate all of you, so purchase tickets now for you and your accompanying person. The Cheeky Docs band will be playing. The Cheeky Docs band play both professionally as musicians and are all medical professionals. So, bring your dance shoes! If this is not your idea of a good night out, you can enjoy all the dining areas within walking distance of the ICC conference center or take a harbour boat ride. China town is also a short walk away and many restaurants can accommodate groups of your friends and colleagues.

However, so is drawing strength from your colleagues and restoring a vision of a healthy future in healthcare. Rest is important. We need a rested health workforce after your amazing and continued efforts in the Covid19 pandemic.

Emeritus Professor John Murtagh

Professor Trish Greenhalgh

Remember too, the practice day visits to visit ‘fair dinkum’ Australian General Practices.

Details and registration via email to WONCA2023@racgp.org.au.

Let us celebrate you and let us together celebrate our profession.

I can’t wait to welcome you all, the countdown is truly on!

Remember your green outfit for Saturday the 28th October, “Green Day”, the gala dinner tickets and dancing shoes. Book your places now. Social Program bookings

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Keep happy, find peace and travel well,

A D J .

P R O F E S S O R K A R E N P R I C E

Chair of the HOC WONCA Sydney Immediate past president RACGP

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AUGUST- SEPTEMBER UPDATE Welcome to the latest edition of the WONCA World Conference Sydney 2023 Update, a monthly bulletin to keep you informed about the latest conference news and information.

With almost one month to go until this year's conference, make sure you visit the WONCA website to check out the final program, which includes a number of additional workshops. For a quick reference guide, you can also view our updated interactive flipbook.

In this latest edition, we talk to one of this year's keynote speakers from the United Kingdom, Dr Iona Heath, about her keynote presentation, "Remembering what we know," and we highlight some exciting preconference workshops and session insights on adolescent health, migrant care and reproductive genetics in general practice.

In case you need further tips for things to do in Sydney, read this month's Q&A with Dr Michael Tam, a member of the Conference Scientific Committee, for his recommendations on activities when in town. You will also find a snapshot of other events happening in Sydney around WONCA 2023.

Also, as part of the WONCA World Conference Sydney 2023, delegates are offered an exciting opportunity to engage with local Australian practices. If you are interested in participating in practice visits, please submit your expression of interest via email to WONCA2023@racgp.org.au.

In the meantime, don't forget to stay up to date on the latest conference news through the WONCA 2023 website.

We look forward to welcoming you in Sydney soon!

WONCA 2023 Host Organising Committee

KEYNOTE Q&A DR IONA HEATH

Each month, we share a brief Q&A with one of WONCA 2023 Sydney keynote speakers about why they are attending this year's conference.

In this edition, we speak to Dr Iona Heath, a retired general practitioner (GP) based in the United Kingdom (UK), member-at-large of the Wonca world council and past President of the UK Royal College of GPs. Dr Heath has been a strong contributor to medical research and practice during her career.

Her keynote presentation, “Remembering what we know,” will cover a range of issues important to general practice, including the improvement of health outcomes through strong systems of primary care, health inequality, continuity of care, as well as ethical issues in the practice of medicine.

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How do strong primary care systems improve health outcomes?

Establishing this was the life’s work of Barbara Starfield from Johns Hopkins in the US. She wrote: “… the beneficial effects of primary care on mortality and morbidity can be attributed, at least in part, to the focus of primary care on the person rather than on the management of particular diseases.”

Julian Tudor Hart put it slightly differently: “Effective health care has to be built around real continuing personal stories, not episodic fragments of standardised process.”

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Why is it important to hold global conferences, such as WONCA? Because there’s so much to learn across borders – from doctors working in different cultural contexts or in differently organised health services; from colleagues with different expertise and understanding. We need to learn from each other so that we can build the global solidarity that’s essential to resisting the damage being caused to healthcare by corporate greed and corruption.

Why do you think people should register to attend this year’s WONCA conference?

Because a world conference is always a thrilling experience.

SESSIONS INSIGHT ADOLESCENT HEALTH The complexity of adolescent health is a welldocumented and constantly changing area of health for GPs and family doctors. At WONCA 2023, this complex topic is covered through specific sessions on adolescent health, as well as across presentation streams targeting specific health issues.

Adolescent health sessions will support GPs and family doctors in understanding and communicating with adolescents and young adults, as well as forming partnerships with parents of teens to benefit their health.

Sessions will cover youth mental health, helping to develop consultation skills in working with adolescents to improve engagement and increase physician confidence in assessing and responding to suicide and self-harm.

Sessions will include practical presentations, the analysis of case studies and the latest in research, which will also cover other adolescent health issues such as malnutrition, eating disorders, ADHD, autism, and Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome.

To explore presentations and workshops relating to this topic search ‘adolescent health’ in the WONCA 2023 program.

WONCA NEWS

MIGRANT CARE WONCA 2023’s migrant care stream offers a valuable opportunity for primary healthcare professionals to gain knowledge, skills and empathy to address the unique challenges faced by vulnerable populations and contribute to global health equity.

The Empathy in action presentation will help GPs and family doctors navigate evolving clinical practice and will build skills in the foundations of best practice, traumainformed and inclusive care models.

Participants will be able to identify and reflect on their own domestic priority population groups and the negative impacts they experience in accessing primary health care.

In How culturally competent we are?

Participants will reflect on the experiences of migrant health and discuss cultural competency in the context of family medicine. Participants will gain insight into ways to deal with diversity in practice and be able to define the basic concepts of cultural competency.

Both migrant care sessions will be interactive, with presentations followed by discussion and self-reflection on their own experience.

To explore presentations and workshops relating to this topic, search ‘migrant care’ in the WONCA 2023 program.

REPRODUCTIVE GENETICS IN GENERAL PRACTICE This interactive pre-conference workshop will cover a range of genetic testing options for GPs and their patients who are either planning a family or are already pregnant.

The workshop will include an overview of reproductive carrier screening (RCS), including a 3-gene screen and expanded screen high-risk result, as well as a presentation on Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening, which covers a high-risk NIPT result and resources available to assist in the provision of genetic testing.

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As an interactive workshop, the presentation for each of the topics will be followed by a series of case studies and small group discussions, providing multiple opportunities for questions, comments and discussion.

Reproductive Genetics in General Practice will run as part of the pre-conference workshop on Wednesday 25 October 2023 from 9am to 3pm.

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRIMARY HEALTH CARE POLICY AND PRACTICE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALMA-ATA AND 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF ASTANA DECLARATIONS ON PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

On 23 October WHO/Europe, together with UNICEF and the Government of Kazakhstan, is co-hosting an international conference to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Alma-Ata and 5th anniversary of Astana declarations on primary health care. The conference "Primary health care policy and practice: implementing for better results" will be an official side event of the 73rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October 2023.

The Conference will: Take stock of progress implementing the commitments in the Declaration of Astana on primary health care since 2018, including the impact of the COVID19 pandemic, and demonstrate concrete results; Shift focus from concepts to action by identifying implementation success factors based on country experiences; and

Identify policies and practices to futureproof primary health-care transformation for moving towards universal health coverage, for greater resilience in the face of emergencies, and better health and well-being.

The Conference is aimed at strategic health leadership at national and subnational levels shaping primary health-care and service delivery transformation. In addition, senior officials in ministries of health with technical responsibility for organization of primary health-care services will be invited to participate, as will academic and technical experts from academic institutions, and international and nongovernmental organizations involved in shaping primary health-care services.

The Conference will be held as a hybrid event. The face-to-face conference can accommodate up to 600 participants based on nominations of invited Member States and Partners.

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REGISTER NOW!

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The online platform will have unlimited hosting capabilities and will be open to all wishing to register. The online platform will provide livestreaming of the event as well as the option to engage with content asynchronously through videos, presentations, and hosted discussion forums.

VISIT THE WONCA VIRTUAL BOOTH AT THE PRE-CONFERENCE (1 SEPTEMBER–22 OCTOBER)

In the lead-up to the Conference, 4 moderated 3-hour virtual roundtable discussions will be held in order to establish a solid technical foundation for the Conference. The virtual roundtables will provide an opportunity to examine the evidence behind each of the plenary sessions, involve stakeholders to debate without capacity constraints, and come up with a summary set of points to feed into each of the plenary sessions. Key academic institutions and non-State actors will be invited to co-organize these sessions.

Make sure not to miss WONCA's interactive space in the Partners in PHC Transformation section. We invite you to visit our virtual booth to discover more about our Working Parties and Special Interest groups, as well as get the latest updates on our upcoming conference in Sydney, Australia and our organization as a whole.

CONFERENCE The Conference programme is built around plenary and parallel sessions. The Conference will be livestreamed on the online platform in real time. Videos of the sessions will be available asynchronously.

REGISTER NOW!

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LAUNCH OF WHO/OHCHR MENTAL HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS & LEGISLATION The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have developed new guidance on mental health, human rights and legislation. The guidance provides critical information to enable policy makers, lawmakers and other stakeholders to formulate laws in line with international human rights standards including the UN CRPD. It also offers practical information on how to develop, implement and evaluate mental health-related legislation following a rights-based process.

Join Dr Tedros, Director-General, WHO and Mr. Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Monday 9 October at 12:30 CEST for the launch of the WHO/OHCHR joint publication entitled ”Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice”. The event will be moderated by Mr. Daniel Bergner, a highly esteemed writer for The New York Times Magazine.

This is a unique opportunity to delve deeper into this transformative new guidance. An interactive dialogue, among persons with lived experience as well as UN officials and high-level government and civil society representatives will underscore why urgent action is needed and how the new WHO/OHCHR guidance has the potential to support person-centered, recovery oriented, rights-based law reform efforts in the area of mental health for countries everywhere.

The event, which will be conducted in English, will also include interpretation in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. International sign language and captioning will also be available.

REGISTER NOW!

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WONCA AFRICA

WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA MEETING Dr. Dan Abubakar, Regional President of WONCA Africa, proudly represented our organization at the Seventy-third session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. This event, held in Gaborone, Botswana, from August 28th to September 1st, 2023, gathered approximately 800 participants, including health ministers, healthcare professionals, civil society members, and experts from across Africa.

During his inaugural speech, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, emphasized the crucial role of primary healthcare as the foundation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Establishing robust primary healthcare systems is essential for achieving equitable healthcare access, a fundamental goal in global health.

“Nowhere is more important than here in our continent. Across the region, hundreds of millions of people lack access to essential health services. Closing these gaps must be top of the to-do list for every member state”, said Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO DirectorGeneral.

Dr. Dan Abubakar's representation of WONCA Africa at this event underscores our commitment to advancing healthcare initiatives and contributing to the region's health and well-being.

The African Forum for Primary Care took the floor during the fourth day of discussion of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa.

During her intervention, Dr Mercy Wanjala noted that goals to promote health a wellbeing within the Africa will remain unreachable if unless communities are empower to be accountable and responsible for individual, family and community health care through strengthening community oriented primary care systems.

Dr Wanjala also highlighted the importance of advocating for self-care and implementing selfcare policies. Better health choices and understanding the importance of lifestyle decisions with the focus on prevention and self-management

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WONCA EAST MEDITERRANEAN

WONCA EMR NEWS: AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2023 Discover the new edition of WONCA EMR News, with interesting information and updates from the region.

FROM WONCA EMR PRESIDENT As the President of the World Organization of Family Doctors Eastern Mediterranean Region (WON CA EMR), I am writing to you today to highlight an issue of paramount importance for our field: health equity.

Health disparities continue to persist in our region, preventing many individuals and communities from accessing the high-quality healthcare they deserve. This deeply concerns us as family physicians, as our fundamental principle is to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care to all individuals, irrespective of their background or socioeconomic status.

2. Improving Access to Underserved Populations: It is essential that family doctors reach out to underserved communities, such as rural populations, refugees, and migrants. We should strive to provide equitable healthcare services in these areas, fostering healthcare delivery models that ensure continuity of care, support preventive measures, and tackle chronic diseases by strengthening primary healthcare services.

3. Culturally Sensitive Care: We have a responsibility to provide culturally competent and sensitive care to individuals from diverse backgrounds. That includes understanding patients' cultural beliefs, practices, and values to effectively meet their healthcare needs. Training programs for family physicians should focus on enhancing cultural competency and promoting diversity in the healthcare workforce.

Addressing health disparities and promoting health equity requires a coordinated effort from healthcare providers, policymakers, and various stakeholders. We, as family doctors, have a unique position to make a significant impact on this issue. Therefore, I believe it is imperative that WON CA EMR takes a leadership role in advocating strategies that promote health equity in family medicine.

Through the establishment of task research collaborations, and educational initiatives, WONCA EMR aims to foster a robust dialogue on health equity within our region. By sharing best practices and innovative approaches, we can collectively work towards reducing health disparities and ensuring that every individual receives equitable healthcare.

In conclusion, I invite you and your esteemed member organization to join us in our efforts to promote health equity in family medicine.

Together, we can make a difference and create a healthcare system that is truly inclusive, fair, and accessible for all.

PROF TAGHREED FARAHAT WONCA EMR PRESIDENT

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE WONCA EMR NEWS EDITION

To accomplish this, we must focus on several key areas: 1. Decreasing Barriers to Healthcare: We need to identify and address the barriers that prevent individuals from accessing healthcare services, such as financial constraints, limited transportation, language barriers, and cultural differences. Promoting patient navigation programs, improving interpreter services, and implementing telemedicine initiatives are just a few strategies that can help overcome these barriers.

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WONCA SOUTH ASIA

CULTURAL IMPACT: LIFESTYLE AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT On 29th July, Friday, WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM)in association with The Spice Route India Movement (SAR) organized a webinar to discuss Influence of cultural practices on lifestyle and disease management. Family Physicians across South Asia participated with great zeal to share their experiences on the topic.

Celebrating the rich culture of South Asia during South Asian Heritage Month, we took a sneak peak into how it affects our lifestyle and hence healthcare in general.

The webinar was conducted in the presence of Dr Elizabeth Reji – Chair WONCA WWPWFM, Dr Hina Jawaid – Regional lead WWPWFM, speakers and several family physicians from South Asia.

Our Speakers were: Dr Anupama Menon from India Dr Hansika Hanthanapitiya from Sri Lanka Dr Humaira Khattak from Pakistan Dr Sonam Choki from Bhutan Dr Rajani Giri from Nepal •Moderator – Dr Gunjan Jha - India The session aimed to discuss following snippets – Cultural influences on lifestyle - early waking/frequent fasting/early dinner, and similar practices.

Illness prevention and management protocol - that special kaadha or appetizer taken regularly to avoid falling sick.

Is western medicine or surgical intervention stigmatized/avoided ? If yes...how are we trying to create acceptance?

How is family history of illness handled - taboo/outcast/no marriage prospects i.e. is genetic aspect a legit concept?

Pregnancy care and immunization any Culture puts its best effort in taking care of the upcoming generation - discussing this segment will throw major light on how evolved is our culture.

The session began with views of the beautiful mountain dwelling nation of Bhutan. Dr Sonam showed us several cultural practices such as wine offering ceremony, betel nut chewing, prevalence of traditional medicines and the challenges henceforth.

We moved next to the landlocked country of Nepal – Dr Rajani described the significant influence of agriculture and spiritual practices in shaping their lifestyle. Early rising, frequent fasting, sattvic food habits, regular walking, working in agriculture sector, joint family system are all a part of traditional living practice. She reminisced the use of Giloy during COVID, ginger tonic for flu and so forth. Home remedies and traditional medicine do have acceptance in rural region.

Stigma towards leprosy, epilepsy or fertility issues is rampant.

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Community workers have a strong network working towards pregnant women and infant care. Apprehension towards institutional delivery being converted to caesarean delivery promoted home delivery. It was a wholesome insight of how healthcare functions and has created inroad in the country.

Thereafter, the speaker from India – Dr Anupama Menon, put forth the beautiful collage inscribed in Indian Culture. Owing to different demography, topography and ruralurban divide, she had a plethora of interesting aspects to cover. Early rising, meal before sunset, frequent fasting schedules, dietary regulations encouraging sattvic eating habits and lots of medicinal plants being part of household such as tulsi, neem, aloe vera etc. – were integral to core Indian culture. People prefer natural treatment in lieu of avoiding side effects as they believe alternate treatment options have no side effects.

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Outreach of healthcare in India works in a network of CHC, PHC, ASHA and Anganwadi workers – therefore creating a good nexus apart from private set ups and tertiary care centres – hence effective ground work is done which is now reflecting in improved infant and maternity mortality rates.

Acceptance of care during pregnancy and infant care has boosted thanks to presence of local faces in healthcare. Regarding taboo aspect of diseases – epilepsy, mental disorders, skin diseases and infertility top the chart. Situation is comparatively better for men. Awareness is more in urban area than rural. Holistic wellness is the most important take home message from Indian Scenario.

Dr Humaira Khattak from Pakistan offered a picturesque view of beautiful amalgamation of Sindhi, Punjabi, Balti, Balochi, Pashtun and Kashmiri culture. Healthcare system faces challenges due to catastrophic floods, rise of Taliban in vicinity, political turmoil and recent covid pandemic. The well drafted slideshow brought up the challenges faced by folklore. Vaccination drive and awareness sessions for the local masses have been an ongoing effort. Many lifestyle diseases attribute their origin to the recent sedentary lifestyle picking up in affluent population of the country. The rise in non – communicable disease is a testimony to the change in lifestyle. The country is grappling with its challenges and hopes to have a better network of facilities via a combined effort from South Asia.

The session went on to hear the views from the country of beautiful beaches – Sri Lanka.

Dr Hansika Hanthanapitiya discussed about the cultural practices influenced by the predominant agricultural background of the nation. The healthcare has similar struggles as its neighbouring countries but the robust network of healthcare workers have shown commendable improvement. Almost all patients have access and preference for institutional delivery and vaccination coverage along with healthy breastfeeding.

Dietary habits were customized in lieu of health status of subject such as pregnant, sick, elderly or child. With change in lifestyle rise of non-communicable diseases has been noted.

The villages have a habit of hanging medicinal leaves on their gate to have healing benefits and to notify others that infection is present in this house. Health drinks such as Koththamali comprising of local products is followed in households. The healthcare network boasts of commendable rates of breastfeeding coverage and infant and maternal mortality rates.

The discussion provided an insight into the boon, our cultural practices have provided and how current healthcare system has merged into it and helped to create a healthy population. It was a beautiful afternoon of camaraderie and brought the essence of similarity in terms of similar cultural practices and familiar struggles. In unison the south Asian countries reinforced their pledge to create an ecosystem for better health facilities and awareness for ample preventive measures. Dr Elizabeth Reji shared her words of wisdom and encouraged all the speakers and participants.

Hoping for many more such academic and cultural exchanges in future.

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DR GUNJAN JHA

Young Doctor lead- WWPWFM National Treasurer and FM 360 CoordinatorThe Spice Route India Movement

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WONCA NEWS

WONCA WP ON PLANETARY HEALTH

A CALL FROM THE WONCA WP ON THE ENVIRONMENT We the family doctors, doctors and health professionals of the world call on world leaders to take urgent action to safeguard the health of global populations from the climate crisis.

Climate change is already having widespread impacts on human health. As frontline health workers we are increasingly responding to health emergencies triggered by the climate crisis. Yet in the face of increasing harm and suffering, new fossil fuel resources continue to be developed and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.

If we are to have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C and halting the escalation of the climate health emergency, we must end the proliferation of fossil fuels.

The World Health Organization has called for a Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty and an end to fossil fuel subsidies. We therefore join these calls, and urge all Governments to adopt the following as urgent health interventions: • End expansion of any new fossil fuel infrastructure and production.

• Phase out existing production and use of fossil fuels.

• Remove fossil fuel subsidies and invest in renewable energy.

• Fast track a just transition that addresses the needs of individuals, communities and countries to move away from fossil fuel energy systems towards more diverse, resilient and inclusive economies powered by renewable energy.

SIGN THE PETITION

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WONCA NEWS

WONCA WP ON RURAL PRACTICE

BRICKS ON RURAL AND PLANETARY HEALTH LAUNCHED In July 2023, the platform ScholarRx unveiled two groundbreaking educational modules, namely "Why Rural and Remote Health" and "Rural, Remote, and Planetary Health."

These modules were developed as part of the Rural Seeds initiative and made possible through the Brick Builder Grant. The visionary behind this endeavor was Mustapha Aminu Tukur (in memoriam), whose dedication and passion for the cause inspired the project's realization.

The modules were crafted by Family Doctor Mayara Floss, a dedicated expert in the field, to provide a comprehensive understanding of rural and remote health challenges.

Currently, two additional modules are in the pipeline: "Community-Centered Approach to Health in Rural and Remote Areas" and "Recruitment and Retention in Rural Areas."

The knowledge shared through these modules is freely accessible, emphasizing the importance of widespread dissemination.

The content presents introductory concepts, real-world experiences, valuable insights, and thought-provoking conclusions to inspire positive changes in the realm of rural and remote healthcare.

For more information and to explore these crucial topics, you can access the modules at the following links:

RURAL, REMOTE, AND PLANETARY HEALTH

WHY RURAL AND REMOTE HEALTH?

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WONCA NEWS

WONCA WP ON MENTAL HEALTH

2ND MEETING: A TRANSFORMATIVE PATH FORWARD Date: July 31, 2023 | Location: Online Video Conference We're excited to share an insightful update from the recent gathering of the MDD Minds Master Faculty. On July 31st, 2023, our esteemed Master Faculty members convened for the project's 2nd meeting, conducted through a dynamic online video conference.

This meeting marked a significant milestone as we collectively delved into key discussions, progress updates, and strategic planning to shape the course's future trajectory.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE MEETING'S HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Unveiling of Learning Platform and Module 1:

3. Engaging Conversations: Shaping Our Path:

5. Face-to-Face Gathering: A Next-Level Connection:

Our Master Faculty members actively engaged in vibrant discussions that guided the design and components of each project phase. These collaborative conversations underscore our commitment to creating an impactful and meaningful educational experience for all the learners.

An exciting announcement emerged from the meeting as the Master Faculty collectively decided to convene in person during the upcoming WONCA World Conference in Sydney 2023. This in-person interaction promises to further enrich collaboration and propel the project forward.

4. Shared Responsibility: Distribution for Success:

Our 2nd Master Faculty meeting was an embodiment of collaboration and dedication. As we forge ahead into the next phases of this transformative journey, we remain resolute in our mission to elevate mental health education and make a lasting impact in the field.

Workload

Understanding that effective teamwork is essential, we organized the workload distribution for the forthcoming phases. This strategic approach ensures that our resources are optimally utilized, promoting seamless progress.

Our dedicated Steering Committee shared exciting updates on Phase 2 of the project.

During the meeting, we introduced the completed version of Module 1 and shared how the learner’s journey on the learning platform looks like, reflecting the collaborative efforts and expertise of our Master Faculty.

2. A Glimpse into the Future: Milestones and Phases: The Steering Committee provided an insightful overview of crucial milestones and dates on our project roadmap. This clarity ensures that we're all on the same page as we march ahead. We also handled an outline of the upcoming phases, including the 7modules online course, the Train the Trainer and Performance in Practice phases.

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WONCA NEWS

WONCA WP ON WOMEN & FAMILY MEDICINE

EMBRACING THE BROAD DEFINITION OF WOMEN’S HEALTH Although women’s health has a lot of focus worldwide, but the real definition of women’s health is still not clear or precise to many people. This has led to incorrect collection of data, screening, treatment, diagnosis, and information.

The increased emphasis on women’s research has opened our eyes in seeing that women are affected by many more diseases apart from reproductive health.

According to McKinsey, women’s health should be re-defined based on the disease profile and broken down into four (4) components. [1] 1- General conditions: Non-communicable diseases like Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, hypercholesteremia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and COPD Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune disease, aches and pains, migraine. osteoporosis, fatigue, and obesity.

Mental health like anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, Violence against women and children. nfectious disease: HIV, Covid, and malaria.

2- Reproductive health: Contraception, Adolescent issues like teenage pregnancies, menopausal symptoms, and genital mutilation.

Fertility issues and maternal health (perinatal, prenatal, and post-natal problems) including breast feeding.

3- Gynaecological problems: Gynaecological infections: Human papilloma virus: (HPV), bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted infections (STI).

Other Gynaecological conditions: Fibroids and endometriosis, pelvic floor issues, menstruation, and sexual health.

4-Oncology: Breast cancer, Ovarian cancer, endometrial and cervical cancer.

Non-communicable disease has become a leading cause of death amongst women especially in the low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and this evidence is worrisome.[2] One in five women might die of a stroke when compared to men and stroke has become the 3rd leading cause of death in women [3].

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3.1) is to reduce the global Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. We understand from this paper that preventable causes of death related to pregnancy and childbirth has taken about approximately 800 women daily especially in the low- and middle-income countries. How can we make a change to this information?

[4] Breast and cervical cancers are leading causes of death in women followed by ovarian cancer due to late diagnosis.

Approximately 685 000 women died Breast cancer in 2020 globally and 1 in 3 females are diagnosed with breast cancer every year [5].

According to Tania Dahesh, there is an increased chance of developing breast cancer in an obese post-menopausal woman especially in African, Asian, European, and North American women [6].

World Health Organisation (WHO) advocates for cervical cancer elimination by 2030 [7].

HPV vaccination has been implemented in many low- and middle-income countries as a national program.

There is an increase rate of obesity amongst women with the change in eating habits; eating processed and low-cost food have resulted in consequent effects on women’s health [8].

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World Health Organization (WHO) advocates that the life of the women and children should be improved by 2030 [9]. Can we achieve this target by 2030?

As WONCA’s working party on women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM) doctors, are we able to define women’s health and the target population?

Can we focus on following people: women health workers, women patients, female adolescence, and children when we consult in our daily practice?

It is important to emphasise the need to looking after one’s own self: 1) How up to date are you with your screening if you are 40 and above? (Annual blood tests, Blood pressure (BP), Haemoglobin (HB), Thyroid function test (TSH), and Bood sugar checks, mammogram, Pap Smear tests etc) 2) Do you ensure your diet is healthy?

3) Do you take regular supplements?

4) Do you take “me time”, go for exercise, travel, or have hobbies etc?

5) If diagnosed with a disease, do you consult a doctor regularly and take medications as prescribed?

6) Do we practice what we preach to the patients?

The above information will assist you to highlight the need to look after the female patients and to get the following information.

1) Do we know the target population that needs screening, diagnosis, and treatment?

2) Do we focus on women’s health during our daily practice?

3) Do we use the consultation time as an opportunity to educate women and give health promotion advice?

4) Is there any evidence of data collection that we can use to improve the quality of life of women?

5) Is there mechanism to analysis and disseminate this information?

6) How can Wonca assist and support you in this regard?

WONCA NEWS

Women are the wealth of the society, and we need to treat them with love, respect, and care. Care includes screening, early diagnosis, and treatment, educating women on their conditions and how to prevent the disease.

We need to improve our access to health by increasing community health workers within the society to optimise the care to women in a holistic approach.

5- https://www.who.int/healthtopics/cancer#tab=tab_1Cancer (who.int).

6- Dahesh T et al. BMC Women’s Health (2023) 23:392. We need to improve our access to health by increasing community health workers within the society to optimise the care to women in a holistic approach.

7- Cancer of the cervix uteri: 2021 update. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13865.

WWPWFM’s focus on these issues will improve the physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing of women. We encourage female doctors to dedicate sometime to women’s health for the betterment of the society.

8- How does globalisation affect women health? Lancet. Vol 6 January 2018.

Http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2214-109X (17)30456-4.

I take this opportunity to thank all the doctors especially women, who have put immense time and work on improving the health of other women. Let’s celebrate being a woman.

9- The Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (20162030) 8- How does globalisation affect women health? Lancet. Vol 6 January 2018.

Http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2214-109X (17)30456-4. .

References: 1- Closing the data gaps in women’s health, April 2023. References: (last accessed 10th Aug 2023).

2- Women's health: a new global agenda Sanne A E Peters, Mark Woodward, Vivekanand Jha , Stephen Kennedy5, Robyn Norton 1- Closing the data gaps in women’s health, April 2023. References: (last accessed 10th Aug 2023).

3Women and Stroke https://www.stroke.org/en/aboutstroke/stroke-risk-factors/women-have-ahigher-risk-of-stroke.

4- Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division [EN/AR/RU/ZH] WHO: Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates

by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division. Feb. 2023

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DR ELIZABETH REJI

WWPWFM Chair

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WONCA NEWS

WONCA SIG ON POLICY ADVOCACY

Dear WONCA colleagues, The WONCA SIG on Policy Advocacy is approaching the end of its first 2 years, and we are pleased to continue our webinar series. We are keen to get views on what our priorities should be for the next biennium following the Sydney conference.

Our next interactive e-Workshop on “Planning the next biennium” is on Friday, 29th September 2023 8am – 10am UTC and 3pm – 5pm UTC.We have two e-workshops on the same day at different time zones to cater to the diversity of WONCA. Register for the Zoom meeting that suits you using the registration links below.

8am – 10am UTC 3pm – 5pm UTC Outline: Prof Shabir Moosa, co-chair of the SIG, will present the background of the group and its main mission. Prof Amanda Howe, Past President of WONCA and co-chair of the SIG and Dr Sankha Randenikumara, Young Doctors’ Lead of WONCA and incoming cochair of the SIG will share their plans for next biennium and seek for contributions from the participants.

1) Effective communication • To continue to build up our interaction with the members, through a strengthened Executive with regional and YDM named links, and with a more active use of the Portal • To continue our successful webinars to learn from experiences of others 2) Developing skills for making good decisions –e.g. how to run meetings, plan agendas, use minutes to communicate well, meetings software, etc.

3) Developing materials - building learning materials that others can use for their own settings (slides, discussion notes, evidence summaries, reference materials, practical exercises to develop communication skills….)

4) Working with WONCA Executive and other WONCA groups to enhance the materials that we all have available to communicate evidence and policy priorities for the importance of family doctors.

Please put the best slot for your time in the diary now!

Hoping to see you on Friday, 29th of September 2023!

We currently have identified four priorities:

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CO-CONVENORS PROF AMANDA HOWE Past President of WONCA and Co-Chair of the SIG

PROF. SHABIR MOOSA Member at Large, WONCA

DR SANKHA RANDENIKUMARA Lead for the WONCA Young Doctors’ Movements and Incoming Co-Chair of the SIG

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WONCA YOUNG DOCTORS’ REPORT NEW YDM OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES A subcommittee worked on revising the YDM Operational Guidelines which contains the new process of selecting the Young Doctors’ Lead, including young doctor liaisons and representatives of other young doctor groups in the YDM Council, etc. The revised guidelines were endorsed by the WONCA executive in April 2023.

YDM GLOBAL FUND It was decided to start and operate the YDM Global Fund as a subaccount under the WONCA account. A SOPs document was drafted and approved by the YDM Committee.

WONCA NEWS

YDM YOUNG DOCTORS' MOVEMENTS

July - The Role of Young Family Doctors in addressing Rural Health Challenges (AfriWon and WP on Rural Practice) September - Hot topics in Emergency Medicine for Family Medicine (EYFDM and SIG on Emergency Medicine) Integrating Care Leadership & Advocacy Program by WONCA WP on Mental Health and WONCA YDM The second step (beta-testing) of the above programme conducted by WONCA Working Party on Mental Health in collaboration with the YDM, commenced in August 2023 with the participation of 8 selected young doctors from the LMICs. Programme runs for the 8 months.

YDM COLLABORATIONS WITH WPS/SIGS Young Doctor Liaisons in WPs/SIGs Following WONCA WPs/SIGs now have young doctor liaisons in their executive committees: WPs on Education, Mental Health and E Health SIGs on Emergency Medicine, Health Equity & Family Violence Rural Seeds represents young doctors of the WP of the Rural Practice YDM-WP/SIG collaborative Webinar Series Five joint webinars with the WONCA WPs/SIGs have been conducted in this period.

January - Digital Health: The Role in Family Medicine (Polaris and WP on eHealth) March - Health Equity around the World (Spice Route and SIG on Health Equity)

WORLD FAMILY DOCTOR DAY CELEBRATIONS 2023 MAY YDM prepared a video to promote the core values of family medicine for the WFDD with contributions from all regions which was highly appreciated by the WONCA community.

JOIN YOUR REGION'S YOUNG DOCTORS' MOVEMENT

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WONCA NEWS Contributions to the CPD activities I physically attended two conferences within this period, namely WONCA Europe Conference 2023 in Brussels, Belgium and International Symposium 2023 by Colombian Society of Family Medicine (SOCMEF) along with Waynakay Meeting in Cali, Colombia and actively participated in young doctors' events took place in those conferences.

WONCA WORLD CONFERENCE, SYDNEY 2023 The organising committee appointed by YDM Committee representing all the regions for the WONCA World Conference 2023 in Sydney has now worked out the programme of the YDM Preconference and activities related to the world conference.

DISCOVER THE PRECONFERENCE PROGRAM

YDM GLOBAL PROJECTS ASPIRE programme – Special webinar series on ‘Leadership’ was conducted by the ASPIRE Programme which was well attended by young doctors and medical students.

WONCA WORLD RISING STAR AWARD 2023 The WW Rising Star Award selection process was revised completely by the YDM committee to make the assessment more objective. Regional nominations have been received and in the process of final assessment.

SELECTION OF THE NEW YDM LEAD According to the WONCA Bylaw change and new operational guidelines, the new YDM Lead election was conducted for the first time by the YDM committee. A special YDM council meeting was held to offer a fair opportunity to the candidates to present their candidacy and to reply the questioned posed by council memebrs. Elections were conducted at the special YDM Committee meeting held on 06.08.2023.

Chan Yuen Ching (Cheryl) of Hong Kong was elected as the Young Doctors’ Representative for next biennium.

COLLABORATIONS WITH THE IFMSA YDM started to work closely with the International Federation of Medical Student Associations (IFMSA). Two of the IFMSA members were given bursaries by exempting registration fees for the WONCA Europe Conference 2023.

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I serve as a faculty member of the Integrating Care Leadership & Advocacy Program conducted by WONCA WP on Mental Health in collaboration with WONCA YDM and as a resource person in YDM ASPIRE Leadership Development webinar series.

I was invited to speak in several international 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 (April 2023) Waynakay Meeting in Cali, Colombia (September 2023) International Symposium 2023 by Colombian Society of Family Medicine – SOCMEF (September 2023)

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AL RAZI (FEB - AUG 2023)

1. Al Razi Members and Executive Group, WONCA EMR Executive Group, and YDM Lead Committee: Al Razi Council: New Members (Since Feb 2023): Haneen Taher (Jordan) extends heartfelt gratitude to Dana AlDaghlise for representing Jordan for the previous term. Previous Members: Anas Almohtaseb (Chair, Jordan), Adel Yasky (Secretary, Saudi Arabia), Nouf Alnoon (Treasurer, UAE), Beesan Maraqa (Palestine, Executive member), Gehad Fareed (Egypt, Executive member), Adnane Alaoui Ismaili (Morocco), Marwa Alraisi (Oman), Omar Alshammari (Kuwait), Yousef Rizq (Lebanon). Other Membership: 1. E-Health WP: Adel Yaski, 2. ASPIRE Group: Beesan Maraqa.

3. FM360: Tareq Alsioury (Palestine). 4.

Treasurer of YDM Lead: Reina Alameddine (Lebanon) Al Razi Meetings: Three meetings from March to Aug 2022.

YDM Lead: Anas & Reina attended most of YDM Leads meetings. Anas participated with a subgroup in reviewing the operational guidelines.

Reina participated in writing YDM Global Fund SOP, suggesting recommendations to support newly elected YDM representative. Beesan Maraqa was Al Razi Candidate for YDM Representative elections.

3.

WONCA Sydney Pre-Conference Workshop: Adel, Beesan and Nouf were nominated on behalf of Al Razi to participate in the formulated committee to prepare for the workshop. Beesan will present Al Razi and its achievements during the preconference workshop.

4. Rising Star Award: Haneen designed and posted the announcement, 11 applications received from Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Syria. Marwa and Haneen independently assessed the applications and nominated the first two candidates. Both agreed that Beesan Maraqa was ranked first, accordingly, Anas and Adel announced that Beesan is the candidate of Al Razi for this award.

5. Celebrating some global events: (1) World Family Doctor’s Day: Adnane recorded video clip (on behalf of Al Razi YDM), that was grouped into YDM shared video celebrating WFDD 2023.

6. Al Razi Bylaw Revision: the designated taskforce (Beesan, Adel, and Marwa) submitted its amendments to the bylaw to Al Razi EG, waiting for final review and approval before submission for WONCA-EMR Council.

2. WONCA YDM - WP/SIG Collaborative Webinar: Education (Jan 2023): conducted by Al Razi YDM & WP on Education in Jan 2023.

Organized and moderated by Gehad with support of Adel. Maram Smairat (Jordan), participated as a speaker.

Digital Health (Mar 2023): participated as a speaker.

Adel

Health Equity (May 2023): Haneen participated as a speaker.

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7. Participation in regional workshops: Beesan and Marwa participated in NCD Priorities in Children and Adolescents in the Eastern Mediterranean Region workshop, Muscat, Oman, in March 2023.

8. Preparation for Al Razi Council meeting and election of new Al Razi Chair and Executive Group: An announcement to be made in September for council meeting in October 2023, including the election of the new chair and members of the executive committee for the next term (2023 – 2025).

Extra Local Teams Activities: Oman: Marwa was elected as the Head of Media Committee of the Oman Family Medicine Society (OFMS) March 2023. Saudi Arabia: Haila Al Othman and Samiah Al Mihamdi suggested lifestyle medicine workshop during Sydney preconference. Egypt: conduction of several scientific activities and participation in medical campaigns in rural areas. Palestine: Monthly scientific day, in collaboration with PAFM and Palestinian MoH, and hiking activity for the team. Jordan: Awareness video and poster about fasting Ramadan for diabetic patients https://fb.watch/jsv63I33g2/ (2) Attending the Annual Scientific Day of the Jordan Society of Family Medicine in April 2023. (3).

Celebrated WFDD by designing a poster.

Morocco: 3 new members joined, increasing members from 11 to 14. Adnane, Hind El Kamch, and Farah Hadadi celebrated WFDD by presentation in the 13th National Congress of General Medicine, May 2023.

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WONCA NEWS

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WONCA NEWS

EYFDM (FEB - AUG 2023)

The past six months have been a busy time for EYFDM, centered around the 2023 WONCA Europe conference (with EYFDM preconference!), which took place in June in Brussels. A lot has happened beyond this event though, and this update gives a flavour of that.

ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN OUR MOVEMENT After taking on a new name last year, we adopted a new logo at the beginning of 2023 which reflects the values of energy, connection and opportunities that are so important to us and our members. We have also moved to a new website, and we have established ourselves as an independent legal entity registered in the Netherlands.

NEW PERSONNEL TO TAKE THINGS FORWARD We held elections in Brussels for several positions on our executive this year. Kerry Greenan (UK) and Marta Kurdzielewicz (Poland) were re-elected as secretary and awards and fundraising officers respectively.

Marika Svatošová (Czechia) replaced Nadia Toumi as treasurer, Carolina Cordovil (Portugal) replaced Christian Rechtenwald as image officer, and Yanica Vella (Malta) replaced Rocio Garcia-Gutierrez Gomez as exchange officer. Stuart Holmes (UK) took over formally from Nick Mamo as president in June and Nick remains on our executive for one more year to support the team as immediate past president. Raisa Álvarez Paniagua (Spain) has taken over from Rianne Van Vliet as FM 360 coordinator for EYFDM, doing this role jointly with Rabee Kazan (Spain) who remains in the role. Heartfelt thanks to all of these EYFDM members who have put so much effort into their roles over the past few years!

EYFDM PRE-CONFERENCE 2023

IMPACT ON WONCA EUROPE

The young family doctors of Belgium did an exceptional job at organising our annual EYFDM pre-conference in June, which was so popular that tickets sold out! Many of our members are at a stage in their lives when we are starting families of our own, and this was our first pre-conference which was officially ‘family friendly,’ so new parents could bring their children and remain involved in the EYFDM community. At this pre-conference we also held two meetings of EYFDM council, one to transact our official business and a second meeting for team building to strengthen our movement.

EYFDM made a large impact on the WONCA Europe conference 2023 - young doctors were approximately one third of total attendees and our presence was felt in the energy we brought to the conference but also in our contributions to the scientific programme. EYFDM was given a session in the main hall, which we used to share our reflections on some of the challenges facing family medicine in 2023 but also where we see hope for the future. This session was recorded and you can watch it here. EYFDM members also helped to establish links between WONCA Europe and the International Balint Foundation, and we also worked with the organising committee of Brussels 2023 to make the main conference family friendly, which was a great success!

The Belgian host organising committee for the EYFDM preconference 2023.

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WONCA NEWS

Both the EYFDM pre-conference and WONCA Europe 2023 were ‘family friendly’ this year.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO WONCA WORLD We worked with young doctor colleagues from around the world to help produce WONCA’s video to celebrate World Family Doctor Day in May, and we are collaborating with WONCA World’s Emergency Medicine SIG to present an educational webinar for young doctors around in September.

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR MEMBERS Providing opportunities to share learning across Europe is a key mission for EYFDM and over the past six months we have facilitated pre-conference exchanges in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. There are more coming up later this year - sign up to our newsletter to stay informed!

We also collaborated with the organising committee of the WONCA Europe conference in Brussels to award 15 bursaries to enable EYFDM members from less privileged countries to attend and participate in the conference - particular mention must go to Marta Kurdzielewicz for her work on this project. We also ran a fundraising lottery in Brussels where we raised nearly 4,000 euros for our bursary fund for future conferences!

EYFDM also recently collaborated with EURACT, the WONCA Europe network for educators, to help them allocate free registrations for their 2023 conference for young family doctors with an a proven interest in medical education.

RECOGNISING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR MEMBERS Lastly I want to note the exceptional members of EYFDM who received awards this year. Marta Ruivo (Portugal) received our biennial Fons Sips award in Brussels and will be put forward as our candidate for WONCA World’s ‘rising star’ award. Katrien Danhieux (Belgium) won our ‘Junior Researcher Award’ and we also gave awards in Brussels for the EYFDM members who demonstrated the most learning from an exchange they undertook within the last year.

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Attendees at the EYFDM preconference 2023.

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WONCA NEWS

POLARIS (FEB - AUG 2023) 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.

In March 2023, Polaris collaborated with the Working Party on E-Health to run a webinar on Digital Health: The role in Family Medicine. This webinar included discussions on the rise of digital technology throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, its utilizations across different types of family medicine settings, the types of digital health/apps physicians can utilize, and a comparison of digital health use in various countries. It can be viewed HERE. In May 2023, we celebrated World Family Doctor’s Day by collaborating with the other YDM chapters to develop a video that highlights the role of a family doctor in our communities and at various stages of a person’s life. It can be viewed HERE.

As part of the ASPIRE team initiatives, Natalia Galarza (Polaris ASPIRE Lead) will be presenting in the WONCA Leadership Curriculum Webinar Series (three session webinar series). The first webinar, Part 1: Introduction to Physician Leadership, took place in August 2023. The next session will be on September 2, 2023 and will cover effective leadership practices.

Our Polaris executive team has also continued to develop newsletters that highlight relevant topics in family medicine.

Our next issue will be released in September 2023 and will focus on top resources in family medicine for young doctors. This includes resources on clinical work, fellowship opportunities, teaching roles, and research opportunities in our Polaris region.

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.

CONGRATULATIONS BRUNÈE DORSETT

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Our very own Brunèe Dorsett (Vice President of WONCA Polaris and Caribbean representative) has been selected as the Rising Star Award nominee for the Polaris region. 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.

She will also be transitioning to the role of Chair of the Polaris YDM Region (beginning January 2024). We congratulate her and wish her all the best as she takes on this new role!

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THE RAJAKUMAR MOVEMENT (FEB - AUG 2023) It was another fruitful and productive year for The Rajakumar Movement (TRM). We had our regular meetings to discuss, plan and organize many activities specially for our young doctors in the Asia Pacific Region.

JANUARY We participated and supported the WONCA YDM - WP/SIG Collaborative Webinar Webinar #3 on Education: Prospectives Around the Regions, hosted by Al-Razi Movement and Working Party on Education.

Dr Aneesa Abdul Rashid shared on the while Dr Chole Chan assisted as the translator for Chinese Mandarin.

MARCH We participated and supported the WONCA YDM – WP/SIG Collaborative Webinar Webinar #4 on Digital Health: Role in Family Medicine, hosted by Polaris and Working Party on eHealth.

Dr Na Wei Lun presented on the Use, Implementation and Limitations of Telehealth in Family Practice.

Dr Chan Hiang Ngee and Dr Hew Sitt Yin assisted with the Chinese Mandarin translation.

APRIL We successfully conducted the first Family Medicine Learning Session: The Patient-Centered, Family-Focused, and Community-Oriented (PFC) Approach hosted by The Philippine Academy of Family Physicians Resident’s Organization on 29 April 2023. The session was delivered by Dr. Kashmir Mae Engada, Family and Community Medicine Specialist, Lifestyle Medicine Physician.

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MAY We celebrated the World Family Doctor Day 2023 with poster displaying photos with a heart sign.

We participated and supported the WONCA YDM - WP/SIG Collaborative Webinar Webinar #5 on Health Equity Around the World, hosted by Spice Route Movement and Special Interest Group on Health Equity.

Dr Marina Antony Nicholson represented TRM in presenting on The Importance of Community Engagement in Promoting Health Equity. Dr Cheryl Chan assisted with the Chinese Mandarin translation.

JULY We successfully conducted the second Family Medicine Learning Session. The topic was Transforming Healthcare Delivery through Digital Health and AI in Primary Care. It was hosted by TRM Malaysia in collaboration with The Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia and Malaysian Family Medicine Specialists’ Association. It was an insightful and wonderful sharing by all the distinguished speakers -Dr Muhamad Irfan Yasin, Dr Avni Patel, Dr Thung Senk Chung, Dr Kev Lim and Datuk Dr Nor Fariza Ngah. Among the interesting technologies being shared were Diabetes Lifestyle Program (DLP), Autism Virtual Early Screening Tool (AVEST), QuitASAP, My NNJ Calculator, M-CHAT, qmedCopilot and Dr MATA. TRM Rising Star Award 2023 Nomination was successfully carried out by Dr Yong Kui Choon from Malaysia emerged as the winner. Thank you to Immediate Chair, Dr Erfen Gustiawan Suwangto as the lead judge.

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

We participated and supported the WONCA YDM - WP/SIG Collaborative Webinar •Webinar #6 on The Role of Young Family Doctors in Addressing Rural Health Challenges, hosted by Afriwon, Rural Seeds and Working Party on Rural Practice.

Dr Yong Kui Choon shared on The Role of Young Family Doctors in Addressing Rural Health Challenges while Dr Cheryl Chan assisted the Chinese Mandarin translation.

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We successfully conducted the third Family Medicine Learning Session.

OCTOBER Special thanks to Dr Phoebe Holdenson Kimura and Dr Wee Sian Woon who were the main pillars in organizing the WONCA YDM Pre-Conference and Networking at WONCA World Conference in Sydney.

The organizing committee had regular meeting to prepare and plan the WONCA YDM Pre-Conference and Networking in order to make it a success.

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THE SPICE ROUTE MOVEMENT (FEB - AUG 2023) 1. IMPORTANT DAY CELEBRATION The Spice Route team organized a webinar to celebrate “World Day for Safety and Health at work” on 28th April hosted by the Spice Route team Sri Lanka. Also a panel discussion was organized to celebrate “World No Tobacco Day” on 31st May hosted

by Spice Route team India.

2. WONCA YDM WP/SIG COLLABORATIVE WEBINAR SERIES

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.

Participated in WONCA YDM Collaborative Webinar Series and hosted a webinar with the SIG on Health Equity on 28th May 2023.

The theme of the webinar was “Health Equity Around the World” with presentations by young doctors of the world and breakout rooms to make it an interactive session.

3. MRCGP SCHOLARSHIP The results of the MRCGP (INT) Scholarship were announced and three young doctors from the region whose abstract had been accepted received the grant. They will be attending and presenting at the WONCA World Conference in Sydney, Australia in October 2023.

4. THE SPICE ROUTE STAR AWARD The nomination process for the Spice Route Star award was commenced and the council worked collectively to evaluate and score the applications received. Dr Anuna Vinod was the winner of the award her name was forwarded to seek nomination for the WONCA World Rising Star Award.

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MOVIMIENTO WAYNAKAY (FEB - AUG 2023)

The next pages gather together a compilation of the reports presented about Waynakay Movement activities during the last eight months.

Participating with active members of WONCA YDM in Mexico, as well as with resident doctors of Family Medicine of UMF 37 in NL, sharing and learning from great leaders of the specialty worldwide.

Waynakay is committed to patient education, making and sharing videos where the correct self-monitoring of glycemic levels is explained, as well as giving dietary recommendations.

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.

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

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 Waynakay Peru, a position was held for the integration of members to the board of directors of the Sociedad Peruana de Medicina Familiar.

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

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.

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Currently the Movement is participating in the accompaniment of the assembly of the National Day of Residents carried out by young residents of Family Medicine of the province of Misiones, site where the next congress of the Federation will be held in October 2023.

In Mexico, there was an approach with the Mexican Federation of Residents and Specialists in Family Medicine, where it was possible to organize a HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM to carry out a research work with young medical specialists and residents of the country to form it and work it through virtually in order to achieve its publication.

As part of the alliance with the Mexican Federation for the second consecutive year there is a dedicated space within the precongress activities for our movement, for the development of our projects with congressional doctors. On this occasion the leader of Mexico Dr. Brando Cantu held an innovation workshop in family medicine and our national recruitment coordinator Dr. Luis Alfredo Cantor made the presentation and promotion of our association.

During these years described, ARPMEFYCU has members forming part of the SUMEFAC board, actively participating in meetings and assemblies and obtaining great support from it, during the course of the struggle and for the activities that the association proposes.

Since the beginning of 2023, periodic meetings have been held at the beginning monthly and since July fortnightly between the various working groups together with the coordination of the movement to review contents produced for publication and dissemination of scientific knowledge according to each group, to discuss / problematize on issues of each group and also about ways to develop dissemination and participation strategies that convene other young doctors in the Participation of activities.

Uruguay is organizing the Pre-Congress Day of the 11th Congress of Family and Community Medicine of Uruguay that will take place from September 6 to 9, as well as being part of the organizing committee of the same.

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We have also participated in the meetings of the board of directors in various exchanges and planning of activities: webinars, youth meeting, Guatemala Summit, Young Doctors Preconference in Cali 2023.

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WONCA NEWS

JOIN ASPIRE LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM WEBINAR SERIES! Are you a medical professional looking to enhance your leadership skills? Look no further! The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) invites you to be a part of our exciting three-part webinar series on Physician Leadership.

Join us for the final installment of our webinar series, where we delve into maintaining and sustaining your leadership skills. Learn how to overcome challenges, manage stress, and cultivate resilience as a leader. Our esteemed speakers will provide valuable guidance on creating a healthy work-life balance while excelling in your leadership role.

PART 3: MAINTENANCE MADE EASIER DATE: SEPTEMBER 30TH 2023 TIME: 1:00 PM UTC DURATION: 60 MINUTES

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND? Enhance your leadership skills: Gain a deep understanding of the principles and practices of effective leadership in the medical field.

PART 1: Introduction to Physician Leadership WATCH HERE

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Learn from experts: Our speakers are experienced leaders in the healthcare industry who will share their knowledge, insights, and practical tips.

This webinar series is open to anyone interested in leadership or looking to enhance their skills, regardless of their current professional role or specialization.

Whether you are a young doctor, a medical student, or a healthcare professional aspiring to take on leadership positions, this series is designed to cater to your needs.

Join us and unlock your leadership potential!

Networking opportunities: Connect with fellow young doctors who are passionate about leadership, fostering collaborations, and expanding your professional network.

Note: Limited spots available. Early registration is recommended to secure your place.

A Certificate will be awarded to all participants who attend all 3 webinars.

Interactive sessions: Engage in interactive discussions, case studies, and Q&A sessions to maximize your learning experience.

Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to develop your leadership potential.

Register now for the WONCA Leadership Curriculum Webinar Series! It’s free!

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Part 2: Effective Leadership Practices WATCH HERE

Location: Online (via Zoom) Registration: click here For more information, visit our website here or contact us at aspire.chair@gmail.com .

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WONCA NEWS

WORLD PATIENT SAFETY DAY World Patient Safety Day 2023, happening on September 17th under the theme "Engaging patients for patient safety," emphasizes the essential role patients, along with their families and caregivers, play in ensuring healthcare safety.

Clear evidence highlights that when patients actively engage in their healthcare, significant improvements occur in safety, satisfaction, and health outcomes. By actively participating in their healthcare team, patients become powerful contributors to their own safety and the broader healthcare system.

Through the slogan “Elevate the voice of patients!”, WHO calls on all stakeholders to take necessary action to ensure that patients are involved in policy formulation, are represented in governance structures, are engaged in co-designing safety strategies, and are active partners in their own care.

This can only be achieved by providing platforms and opportunities for diverse patients, families, and communities to raise their voice, concerns, expectations and preferences to advance safety, patient centeredness, trustworthiness, and equity.

Patient and family engagement stands firmly embedded in Resolution WHA72.6 - "Global Action on Patient Safety" and the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 as primary strategies to eliminate avoidable harm in healthcare.

The global campaign for World Patient Safety Day 2023 will propose a wide range of activities for all stakeholders on and around 17 September, including national campaigns, policy forums, advocacy and technical events. Find more.

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MIMS WEBINAR: IMPROVING MANAGEMENT OF OLDER PATIENTS IN PRIMARY CARE

MIMS, in collaboration with esteemed WONCA experts, will be hosting a new MIMS Education webinar on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 3 pm (UTC+8).

This webinar, titled “Improving Management of Older Patients in Primary Care," aims to delve into crucial aspects of primary care for elderly patients, with a special focus on addressing their unique challenges and mental health issues.

The session will have the participation of our two WONCA experts, Professor Dimity Pond and Dr Leon Geffen, as they share their extensive knowledge and experiences, making this webinar an invaluable opportunity for primary care professionals across the region.

Join Professor Dimity Pond and Dr Leon Geffen in addressing the unique challenges and mental health issues of older patients in primary care.

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LSHTM 2022/23 SERIES ON PRIMARY HEALTH CARE ‘Primary Health Care: The heart of every health system’ was the title of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s 2022/23 Public Health & Policy online monthly seminar series which to date has welcomed leading experts as speakers and over 2000 unique viewers from across the world.

The series kicked off with a passionate panel debate discussing why Primary Health Care often struggles to find itself at the heart of every health system, despite its importance for the well-being of all communities and a necessity for the effectiveness of all health systems.

Following this, the perennial question of, ‘What is Primary (Health) Care?’ was tackled, with a whistlestop tour of the historical underpinnings of both the concepts of Primary Health Care and Primary Care. In keeping with the WHO’s 2020 Operational Framework, Primary Health Care was defined broadly as a whole-of-society approach to health aiming to ensure the highest possible level of health and wellbeing and their equitable distribution using a three-pillar approach. These three pillars were explored in the following sessions - Multisectoral Action and Policy; Empowered People and Communities; and Integrated health services including Primary Care and Public Health.

and research needs; and finally Measuring, Regulating and Improving Quality in Primary Care was discussed with its complexity and pitfalls.

The series is available to anyone to watch. If you would like to keep in touch about future PHC related events at LSHTM you can subscribe to LSHTM’s PHC Interest Group mailing list. Many thanks to all the speakers and advisory group involved in planning and delivering the series. The final panel debate will take place in the Autumn, details will be provided on the LSHTM PHC events webpage shortly.

Luisa Pettigrew Luke Allen Josephine Exley Co-Leads of LSHTM’s Primary Health Care Interest Group

Primary Care was defined as the health services required to comprehensively provide care across the continuum of health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care – providing the first point of contact, coordination, and continuity of care. The latter four seminars explored what was needed to Finance Primary Care – at a national and local level; to get the Primary Care Workforce right – including the importance of family medicine and wider multidisciplinary team; to hold things together with adequate Primary Care Infrastructure – including the physical, transport, medicines, digital, evidence-base

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MCGILL FMER: 2023-2024 PIERRE PLUYE INTERNATIONAL AWARDS IN FAMILY MEDICINE EDUCATION The McGill Family Medicine Education Research Group (FMER) is proud to announce the sponsorship of the third edition of ‘The Pierre Pluye International Awards in Family Medicine Education’. With these awards, the FMER celebrates the original and influential contribution of Dr. Pierre Pluye, founding member of the research group, to the advancement of mixed methods research and mixed studies reviews in general, and of the family medicine education field of inquiry in particular. These awards are aimed to distinguish the work of promising new researchers committed to the advancement of science in family medicine education research around the world.

Two academic awards – one for the best MSc thesis, and one for the best PhD thesis – are granted by an Award FMER Evaluation Committee. The committee includes at least two FMER researchers, and two FMERaffiliated graduate students (one MSc student and one PhD student or candidate).

Applications must include the five documents detailed below. Incomplete applications will be disregarded: 1. A cover letter in which the candidate clearly indicates the award s/he is applying for (MSc or PhD thesis); introduces him/herself, the program and institution in which s/he graduated, as well as his/her research supervisors; and briefly describes the investigation conducted.

2. An abstract of maximum 500 words that summarizes the thesis. Particular attention should be given to the description and justification of the mixed methods (empirical research and/or review) adopted in accordance with GRAMMS (Good Reporting of Mixed Methods Studies), and of the major theoretical, empirical, methodological, and practical contributions to the sciences of family medicine education.

Submission period: July 15 to November 15, 2023. The candidates’ thesis must have been approved for obtaining an MSc or PhD degree no earlier than two academic years prior to submission, i.e., before July 15, 2021.

The thesis must meet 3 criteria: Be related to research in family medicine education; Must use mixed methods in empirical research and/or literature review; Be written in English or French.

Neither the candidate nor the proponent can be members of the McGill FMER group.

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3. A copy of the approved thesis in PDF format.

4. An updated version of the candidate’s Curriculum Vitae.

5. A letter of support from the candidate’s principal research supervisor (specifying that the thesis has been approved for obtaining an MSc or PhD degree).

Application packages should be sent by email to the Director of the McGill FMER, Dr. Charo Rodríguez (charo.rodriguez@mcgill.ca) any time during the four-month application period that, as noted above, will expand from July 15 to November 15, 2023 (deadline).

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ADVANCING FAMILY MEDICINE THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: A PROGRAM FOR EMERGING WOMEN LEADERS COURSE DATES & FORMAT: October 19-December 14, 2023 Hybrid delivery – synchronous and asynchronous content Flipped classroom model | Weekly synchronous content (90 minutes of small group discussion moderated by DFCM faculty) | Weekly asynchronous content for self-study Six synchronous sessions on Thursdays, 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM (EST)

AUDIENCE Current or emerging early to mid-career women leaders in family medicine from around the world.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Advancing primary care and family medicine globally requires leadership and advocacy at many levels within a healthcare system. The Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) at the University of Toronto and its international collaborators have played an important role in advancing leadership curriculum at the undergraduate, postgraduate and faculty level.

This course will foster leadership development for women emerging into family medicine leadership roles globally as women increasingly represent the majority in family medicine, yet leadership development targeting specifically junior family physician women leaders is lacking.

Course participants will develop critical skills to support their leadership journey as they advance the discipline of family medicine, while working together to address the challenges unique to emerging women leaders.

ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATE This one-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 17.5 Mainpro+ credits.

Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a certificate of completion.

You are required to attend 5 out of 6 synchronous sessions and meet minimum participation requirements to receive a certificate.

VISION STATEMENT Family physician women leaders strengthen healthcare systems and communities globally through effective collaborative leadership.

OBJECTIVES By the end of the course, participants will be able to: Reflect on the foundational concepts of physician leadership of self, others and systems.

Identify and leverage key enablers that elevate women leaders in primary care, discussed with a gender and culturally contextual lens.

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Acquire skills to master challenges faced by mid-career women family physicians in leading oneself, others, and health systems.

Build a community of global women leaders in family medicine by leveraging peer mentorship into a network of support, empowerment, and advancement.

COURSE FRAMEWORK

6 sequential and inter-related sessions: Leading Self –Articulate your own leadership journey Understanding others –Cross-cultural and gender perspectives in leadership development Engaging with others –The power of networks and relationships, excellence in communication Leading others –Managing conflict gracefully Leading Change –Practical tools for effective change management Negotiations –How to achieve a win-win situation For questions, please dfcm.globalhealth@utoronto.ca

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MALAYSIAN FAMILY MEDICINE SPECIALISTS' ASSOCIATION - 25TH FAMILY MEDICINE SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE The Malaysian Family Medicine Specialists Association (FMSA) is thrilled to extend a warm invitation to the 25th Family Medicine Scientific Conference (FMSC) 2023. The conference will take place from August 23rd to 26th, 2023, at the Mövenpick Hotel and Convention Centre KLIA in Sepang, Malaysia.

After a challenging two-year period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 25th FMSC will mark their second physical conference, allowing participants to meet face-to-face once again. This milestone event promises an exceptional program featuring preconference workshops, engaging plenary sessions, enlightening symposiums, as well as oral and poster presentations.

The 25th FMSC promises to be an exceptional platform for networking, knowledge sharing, and professional development within the field of family medicine. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with fellow practitioners, exchange ideas, and gain insights that will empower them to deliver the highest standard of care to their patients.

For registration and further details about the 25th Family Medicine Scientific Conference (FMSC) 2023, please visit the official conference website at https://fmsconference.my/

Renowned experts from esteemed institutions have been invited as speakers, ensuring insightful discussions on various aspects of primary care, covering the entire spectrum from womb-to-tomb. Each session will embody the essence of “MIND, BODY, SOUL: A VOYAGE OF WELLNESS" integrating these elements into the conference's overarching theme. The topics have been carefully selected to provide the latest knowledge updates and shared experiences, inspiring attendees in their day-to-day clinical practice.

Dr. Nor Hazlin Binti Talib, President of the Malaysian Family Medicine Specialists Association (FMSA), shared her enthusiasm for the upcoming conference, stating, "We are delighted to welcome all our friends and colleagues to the 25th Family Medicine Scientific Conference. This event represents a significant milestone for us, as it signifies our return to physical conferences after a challenging period. We are confident that the FMSC 2023 will offer an enriching experience, enabling participants to enhance their understanding of primary care and rejuvenate their mind, body, and soul."

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BESROUR CENTRE LAUNCHES LEARNING MODULE: 'DISASTER PLANNING FOR FAMILY DOCTORS THE BESROUR CENTRE FOR GLOBAL FAMILY MEDICINE ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE LEARNING MODULE “DISASTER PLANNING FOR COMMUNITY FAMILY PHYSICIANS

WHAT IS FM PIVOT? Discover the Besrour Centre for Global Family Medicine: FM Pivot Modules.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the largest and most rapid disruption to the practices and training of family physicians. It has revealed gaps in the capacity of our health care systems, but it has also led to a surge in resiliency, innovation, and gained experience as primary care providers and educators adapt to this new paradigm.

This FM Pivot educational initiative has been developed by a team of global Besrour Centre partners to help family physicians and family medicine educators prepare for similar challenges in the future within their own contexts.

Our module “Disaster Planning for Community Family Physicians” is now available for free. This online module aims to apply practical knowledge to improve the quality and efficiency of care during the pandemic.

Start this learning module here.

Series of five modules focus on global health emergency competencies with five themes.

Modules launched to date, available for free fmpivot.ca Finding Great Research Questions in Pandemics and Other Crises: An introduction for family medicine researchers Chronic Disease Management during the COVD-19 Pandemic Mental Health Tools for Family Physicians in a Post-COVID World Disaster Planning for Community Family Physicians Upcoming topic for 2023: • Virtual Education

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