Today we discussed together outcomes of our Genzer project that we started during COVID-19 pandemics. We moved the GenZer project to the online space and invited experienced experts from IPčko. We spent more than two months online with teenagers and today there are 6 themes in the world, 6 models, 6 views of the world of teenagers, based on interviews with them.

We know much more about how they have to sleep (Michaela Kostičová, Eva Dobiasova), which prevents them and helps them develop in school, what prevents them and helps them feel safe and good at school (Simi Horan, Daniela Husarova Brindova, Lenka Sokolová , Miriam Lare), how they use online space and technology to their advantage, what risks they perceive in online space (Laura Bittó Urbanová, Zuzana Dankulincova Veselska, Silvia Capíková) and also what prevents them and helps them to be physically active (Viktoria Korchinskaya, Jaroslava Kopčáková, Boris Katrušín).

We are looking forward to being able to release these messages out, because they will also surprise and help us a lot to tailor our strategies and interventions in the right direction.

On the 16th of February 2022 our colleague, Ivana Skoumalová have been awarded a double PhD degree at the University of Groningen during a defence and PhD ceremony held online between the University of Groningen and Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice. The thesis entitled “Health literacy and health-related outcomes in dialysed patients: cues to enhance health equity in patients with chronic health conditions” was defended in the presence of the College of Deans and the PhD Examining Committee. More information about defence ceremony might be found here.

On the 16th of February 2022 our colleague, Jaroslava Macková have been awarded a double PhD degree at the University of Groningen during a defence and PhD ceremony held online between the University of Groningen and Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice. The thesis entitled “Families at risk and the role of the care system” was defended in the presence of the College of Deans and the PhD Examining Committee. More information about defence ceremony might be found here.

Reducing Inequalities in Vaccine uptake in the European Region – Engaging Underserved communities (RIVER-EU) is a 5-year (2021-2026) project funded by the Horizon 2020 Research Programme. Our main goal is to collect evidence on health system determinants of high and low vaccine uptake in eight specific contexts. This evidence will be used to identify and/or develop interventions to reduce barriers to vaccine uptake in underserved communities and increase trust in the health system.

First newsletter is here to introduce you to our RIVER-EU project, describe our target communities and show you our current work.

You can read the newsletter here

On Wednesday, February 2 we met with Dr. Agis Tsouros to discuss research involving the CoHeReNt – Community Health Research Network, and opportunities for future collaboration.

Dr. Agis Tsouros is a public health expert and has been with the WHO for years. He is behind many important projects, such as the WHO European Healthy Cities Network and others.

Are you ready to submit or are you close to final?

You are very welcome to submit your manuscript!

More information could be found here:

https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/30747/health-of-adolescents-quantitative-and-qualitative-perspective?fbclid=IwAR2kzRYyaj7MR8ulg0OocDAFZ7fCQaoOTiZHlM3CiKfX8jmryA7ve4bGD3M#overview

Our first article in 2022 on health literacy and change in health-related quality of life in dialysed patients is now published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 

You can find full-text article here: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/620

Thank you for sharing this paper with your colleagues. 

We were very pleased to receive the message that, after careful evaluation by the Board of Directors of DIPEx international, our application and the team presented in it were rated as high quality and we were unanimously accepted as a new member country of the DIPEx network.

DIPEx International is a unique global collaboration of scientists, physicians and patients who are committed to enriching people’s understanding of health, healthcare and disease experiences and bringing this new knowledge to the world through qualitative research.

More information can be found at http://www.dipexinternational.org/

A new adventure begins and we believe it will be enriching for all of us.

On 24 June 2021, the country coordinator for Slovakia in RIVER-EU project, Daniela Filakovska, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJS) in Košice, spoke at the online workshop ‘Finding sustainable funding to build health equity in Europe’. The workshop aimed to bring together national and local Roma and pro-Roma civil society organisations, public health stakeholders, NGOs working with vulnerable groups and research institutes willing to establish cross-sectoral and transnational cooperation.

During the meeting, Daniela presented objectives of the RIVER-EU project, with a special focus on work that will take place in Slovakia. Throughout the project, the colleagues at the UPJS will study health system barriers and enablers to increase the HPV vaccination uptake in Roma population in Slovakia. Tailored to the specific context of Slovakia, an intervention proven-to work elsewhere will be piloted in the country. To learn more about the work in Slovakia, read the descriptions of the:

• Work Package 2 – Collecting evidence
• Work Package 3: Development or adjustment of tailored interventions
• Work Package 4: Implementation and Evaluation of tailored interventions

You can also access the presentations or re-watch the event here.

On 10th December our PhD. students Veronika Pacutova and Viktorya Karchynskaya met with Mette Toftager, who is a researcher at the Faculty of Health, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark and also project manager of the HBSC research collaborating with WHO Regional Office for Europe. It is a cross-national study, where the data are collected every 4 years in 50 countries across Europe and North America, as well as in Slovakia for years 2021/2022. Interest of the research is in daily physical activity, bullying, peer support, sexual behaviour, tobacco use, feeling low and more… Regarding this meeting, they discussed physical activity and differences among Danish and Slovak adolescents.

Check out for more info:

HBSC Slovakia – Health Behaviour in School-aged Children | Medzinárodná štúdia o zdraví a so zdravím súvisiacom správaní 11-, 13- a 15-ročných školákov (hbscslovakia.com)

HBSC – HBSC