AHPI Annual General Meeting 2020
The AHPI Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th February 2020 in the Carmelite Community Centre on Aungier St, Dublin 2. This year the meeting will have a strong focus on networking and planning and we would like to invite members to participate and get involved.
The day will run from 10.15-15.00 and will begin with the presentation of AGM reports and Election of Officers for 2020.
This will be followed by coffee and networking.
After the coffee break we will have a journal club session facilitated by Dr Jane Sixsmith. This will provide an opportunity to discuss and engage with a relevant recent health promotion paper. The aim of the journal club is to develop critical appraisal skills and interpret and communicate findings. This journal club session will contribute to CPD as required under the IUHPE professional registration system.
This will be followed after lunch by a planning session for the AHPI. Members from the Executive Committee and Accreditation Board will discuss and plan future activities. We would appreciate the input of members at this session and it is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the behind the scenes work of the Association.
If you would like to register for the AGM please click here.
Options to Foster Health Promoting Health Systems in Europe
The Health Promoting Health Systems report was prepared by the European Commission's Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH) and adopted at its 18th plenary on 7 November 2019 after public hearing on 23 October 2019. Professor Margaret Barry, President of IUHPE, is a member of this Panel and was the rapporteur for this document. A Fact Sheet on the key recommendations can also be accessed here.
“Health promotion is an essential strategy for improving health equity and a key action underpinning the reform of health systems in Europe. Applying the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the competences of the EU treaties for the promotion of wellbeing and protection of health across all EU policies, we recommend that a range of policy measures and financial mechanisms at the European level are applied to support the implementation of transformative health promotion policies and practices in EU Member States. This shift in focus from disease to health can be considered ‘a disruptive innovation’ due to the need to transform existing organisational structures, workforce, and services.” (EXPH, 2019)
The Opinion makes a number of key recommendations for action on strengthening the capacity of EU countries to implement health promotion at a political, policy and service delivery level, recognising that the implementation of the SDGs in Europe present a major opportunity to bring a central focus on health promotion as a core element of delivering on sustainable development and universal health coverage.
IUHPE argues that reorienting health systems to focus more on health promotion, prevention and primary health care, as advocated in the Ottawa Charter, is the most effective and sustainable way to achieve national health goals and targets, and reduce the escalating burden of preventable diseases and mental ill-health on health care systems and treasuries. We are glad to see that the opinion of the EXPH builds on the arguments and the approach outlined in the IUHPE Position Statement, Beating NCDs equitably - Ten system requirements for health promotion and the primary prevention of NCDs (2018), and the work developed on the core competencies for health promotion, that are the basis of the IUHPE Health Promotion Accreditation System.
This report is part of an ongoing discussion that will continue in the upcoming months with further publications, including the accompanying fact sheet, presentations and other events. Visit IUHPE for further information.
Jacopo Villani, a graduate from the MA in Health Promotion programme is the latest recipient of the inaugural Association for Health Promotion Ireland ‘AHPI Certificate of Recognition’ award
The Association for Health Promotion Ireland (AHPI) is delighted to announce the latest recipient of the inaugural ‘AHPI Certificate of Recognition’ award is Jacopo Villani.
Jacopo Villani receiving the AHPI Certificate of Recognition award from Dr Jane Sixsmith (AHPI Executive Committee Member and Director MA/PGDip Health Promotion Programme) and Professor Margaret Barry Established Chair of Health Promotion and Public Health, NUI Galway
Jacopo is a graduate from the MA in Health Promotion programme in the Discipline of Health Promotion at the National University of Ireland Galway. The aim of this award is to encourage, recognise and promote graduates from the three Accredited Health Promotion programmes in Ireland.
It has long been recognised that health promotion plays a pivotal role in society and is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. Jacopo’s award was in recognition of the research he completed as part of his Health Promotion Masters degree. This research explored Irish Travellers' perceptions of mental health and aimed to identify the most relevant factors for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing among this socially excluded group. The findings of this research show that Travellers have a very negative concept of mental health. However, Travellers show a strong awareness of the causes of their poor mental health and believe that addressing unemployment, low educational attainment, discrimination and poor accommodation, could help improve their mental health. Finally, this study found that community mental health promotion initiatives should be focusing on developing emotional resilience and self-esteem, reducing mental health stigma, and on the promotion of Traveller culture. These strategies will help Travellers' to improve their mental health status and decrease health inequalities in Ireland.
Students from accredited Health Promotion courses have the knowledge, skills and competencies required for their profession and these awards aim to recognise these achievements. Dr Patricia Heavey, Chairperson of the AHPI speaking on behalf of the association congratulated Jacopo on his success saying ‘We are delighted to be able to support this award that recognises Jacopo’s hard work, dedication and commitment throughout his Masters degree. This is a fantastic achievement and we wish him every success in his Health Promotion career’.
The Association for Health Promotion Ireland (AHPI) announce the inaugural ‘AHPI Certificate of Recognition’ award
The Association for Health Promotion Ireland (AHPI) is delighted to announce the inaugural ‘AHPI Certificate of Recognition’ award. The aim of this award is to encourage, recognise and promote graduates from the three Accredited Health Promotion programmes in Ireland. The first recipient of this award was Susie Sutton, a graduate from the BA (Hons) in Health Promotion at Waterford Institute of Technology.
Susie Sutton receiving the AHPI Certificate of Recognition award from Aileen Scott (AHPI Executive Committee Member)
It has long been recognised that health promotion plays a pivotal role in society and is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. Susie’s award was in recognition of the research she completed as part of her Health Promotion degree. This work explored the lived experiences of young people living in an urban designated disadvantaged community in Ireland, their perception of their community and their perception of how others’ view it. The purpose of this research was to contribute to the literature in regard to young peoples’ experiences in their community in Ireland. The findings from this research show that the young people know that there are problems in their community, but they are also aware of the many positive aspects that enhance their community such as sporting teams and friendships. Although many of the young people would not like to live there in the future, they are mostly happy living there now. However, they feel other people have a negative view of the community and this is largely due to negative media coverage and messages they have heard.
Left to right Aileen Scott, Susie Sutton and Dr Elaine Mullan Lecturer BA (Hons) in Health Promotion
Students from accredited Health Promotion courses have the knowledge, skills and competencies required for their profession and these awards aim to recognise these achievements. Dr Patricia Heavey, Chairperson of the AHPI speaking on behalf of the association congratulated Susie on her success saying ‘We are delighted to be able to support this award that recognises Susie’s hard work, dedication and commitment throughout her degree. We wish her every success on her Health Promotion journey’.
Professor Willie Donnelly (President Waterford IT) congratulating Susie on her award
Note: The AHPI Certificate of Recognition will also be awarded to the best student on the other two Accredited Health Promotion courses; MA in Health Promotion, National University of Ireland Galway and BSc Public Health and Health Promotion Institute of Technology, Sligo
‘Implementation for Successful Health Promotion Action’ workshop
Registration for the ‘Implementation for Successful Health Promotion Action’ workshop is now open on eventbrite.
Tickets are now available for the implementation workshop on Thursday 14th November in Aras Moyola, Lecture room 129, Ground floor, National University of Ireland Galway and are 15 euros for AHPI members. Non AHPI members are charged 50 euros per ticket. You can purchase tickets on Eventbrite by clicking here. Looking forward to seeing you in Galway!
