CHS Delegation Presents at 17th European Public Health Conference
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LISBON, Portugal — A delegation of faculty and full-time researchers from the Turpanjian College of Health Sciences (CHS) and Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development (CHSR) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) presented eight research projects at the 17th European Public Health Conference held on November 12-15. The AUA CHS/CHSR team comprised Anya Agopian, Ph.D.; Lusine Musheghyan (MPH ’14), M.S.W.; Zhanna Sargsyan (MPH ’18), M.S.; Varduhi Hayrumyan (MPH ’16), M.S.; and Astghik Atanyan (MPH ’18), M.D.
With around 3200 delegates from more than 90 countries in attendance, the conference attracted public health researchers, experts and policy makers from around the world to network, share cutting-edge research, and enhance public health strategies and policies, under the theme “Sailing the Waves of European Public Health: Exploring a Sea of Innovation.” The presentations emphasized important topics, including exploring the potential of artificial intelligence to improve health systems and drive innovation, addressing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health through the One Health approach, developing strategies to reduce disparities and ensure equitable healthcare access, leveraging European public health initiatives to address global health challenges, and promoting behavior change to improved health outcomes.
The CHS/CHSR delegation showcased poster walks and displays on the following studies:
- Maternal health in conflict-affected settings: a case study from a frozen conflict zone (Agopian);
- Depression and its risk factors in a conflict-affected population: findings from a nationwide survey (Musheghyan);
- Cross-sectional survey of health literacy among high school students in Armenia (Sargsyan);
- Predictors of infectious disease-related behaviors among adolescents in Armenia (Hayrumyan);
- The impact of a rural school-based oral health intervention among primary schoolchildren in Armenia (Atanyan);
- Health-related quality of life among refugees from Nagorno Karabakh residing in Kotayk, Armenia (Muradyan);
- Tobacco Free Advent Calendar: Evaluating innovative strategies in Public Health digital campaigns (Sargsyan).
All abstracts were published in the European Journal of Public Health, Volume 34, Issue Supplement_3, November 2024.
Astghik Atanyan co-chaired a conference session on “Food, nutrition and diet.” During the Pre-conference Young Researchers’ Forum, Shaghig Minassian (MPH ’24) presented her MPH thesis project titled “Retrospective Exploration of Food and Water Access and Coping Strategies and Their Impact on Household Food Security during the 2022-2023 Artsakh Blockade: A Qualitative Study.”
The CHS team expresses gratitude for the partial scholarships provided by the conference organizers, the Gulbenkian Foundation, and the AUA Professional Development Grant, which made CHS’s participation in the conference possible.
The AUA Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, nursing, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.
