Our team is happy to welcome three new PhD students, who started their PhD studies at the Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Šafárik University in Košice in cooperation with University in Groningen, The Netherlands in September.

Jaroslava Macková joined our team in vulnerable children research area working on Care4Youth project focusing on children with emotional and behavioral problems. Her PhD thesis is focused on the impact of selected risk and protective factors on the healthy development of adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems.

Ivana Skoumalova joined our team in specific patient group research area as a member of HLQ CD project. Her PhD thesis is focused on research in using the health literacy profile to increase the effectiveness of chronic kidney disease management.

Laura Urbanová became national team member of Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study as a part of school-aged children research area. Her PhD thesis is focused on research of the association of socieconomic disadvantage cumulation with health inequalities and possible sources of resilience.

On the 20th of September our colleague Daniela Husárová Brindová have been awarded a double PhD degree at the University of Groningen and at the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. PhD ceremony held in the University of Groningen’s auditorium. The thesis entitled “Barriers to active participation of school-aged children” was defended in the presence of the College of Deans and the PhD Examining Committee. More information about defence ceremony might be found here.

Participation in daily activities within a social context (e.g. family, school, community, etc.) is essential for healthy development in adolescence. This also holds for adolescents with chronic health conditions. However, due to the requirements for treatment and due to simply being perceived as different from their healthy peers these children are often limited in many areas of everyday life.

Results of our colleague presented in her PhD thesis showed that a considerable number of Slovak adolescents exceeded the recommended duration of screen-based activities and at the same time were not sufficiently physically active. Both were associated with negative health outcomes. Similarly, adolescents with long-term illness or chronic conditions reported higher levels of screen-based behaviour, however they did not differ from their peers, with exception of those with asthma and learning disabilities. Such children perceived barriers to active participation, including parental and personal worries, which might be associated with frequent engagement in screen-based activities. Moreover, parental restrictions as well as family joint activities were found to be important determinants of the amount of screen-time. The need of supporting a healthier and active lifestyle not only among healthy adolescents, but even more among those with health conditions is important. Intervention strategies should target their social context, including family and school, as well as the creation or increasing of a physical activity-enhancing environment.

Understanding the factors contributing to active participation and the barriers perceived by healthy adolescents as well as by adolescents with health conditions is important for the development of strategies to maintain active participation and growing up healthily.

Our colleague, Daniela Fiľakovská Bobáková, was invited to attend “Equity in Health in All Policies (eHIAP) for Central European countries: WHO Flagship Course” held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 18-20 September 2017.

The aims of this eHiAP Flagship course are to build capacity in the soft skills which are essential to implement cross sectoral working for health equity and wellbeing and strengthen the skills and knowledge to integrate health  and health equity into policies, strategies and agendas for development, growth & inclusion.

Our colleagues, Daniela Fiľakovská Bobáková, Miriama Lacková Rebičová and Michaela Pálfiová, on September 14, 2017 in Košice, took part in the day-long conference “Children and Their Place under the Sun” in order to establish contacts with care providers for children with emotional and behavioral problems within the Care4Youth project. Organized by the non-profit organization “Miesto pod Slnkom”, which is working with us on the Care4Youth project.

Our colleagues Zuzana Boberová (Faculty of Science, UPJŠ in Košice) and Jaroslava Kopčáková became in June 2017 members of work group “Health and active living” under the project of the Youth Department of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with IUVENTA. Moreover this work group has launched preparations for the third comprehensive document on the life of young people.

The Youth Department of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with IUVENTA – the Slovak Youth Institute has launched preparations for the third comprehensive document on the life of young people. Its aim is to map their current conditions and to ensure continuity in the area of setting government policy objectives of children and youth. A strategic document monitors the different aspects of young people’s lives in the Slovak Republic and informs about current challenges in specific policy areas in relation to youth.

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