Highlights of the EGPRN meeting in Kusadasi Turkey.

The 76th European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) meeting took place in Kusadasi, Turkey from the 16 to 19 of May 2013

This time the EGPNR meeting has run in parallel with the 12th National Congress of Family Medicine organised by the Turkish Association of Family Physicians (TAHUD). Founded in 1990, the local host TAHUD is the professional organization representing Family Physicians (specialists and residents) on a national and international level. Working in collaboration with the Turkish Board of Family Medicine (TAHYK) and the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), TAHUD is the main body in matters regarding primary health care and family medicine for the public, health care professionals, as well as, policy makers.

The success of the meeting was mainly due to the efforts and commitments of the organisers: Pinar Topsever, member of EGPRN Advisory Board; Mehmet Ungan, National Representative of Turkey and EGPRN Acting Chair; Pemra Ünalan, member of Host Organizing Committee; and Okay Basak, President of TAHUD.

The location of the meeting was Kuadasi (translated into English as “Bird Island”), a peninsula with a charming holiday resort, situated on the beautiful Aegean coastline of Western Turkey, close to historic sites like Ephesus, Pamukkale and Didyma.

The theme of the meeting Risky behaviours and healthy outcomes in primary health care addressed all kinds of risky behaviour. Risky behaviour of populations, individuals in the community, as well as, that of health professionals, can compromise health outcomes which usually first manifest in general practice.

Thus, the theme of this EGPRN meeting was constructed around counter-parting all kinds of risky behaviours threatening the health of individuals, as well as, population health with healthy outcomes, which can be achieved with patient centred, community-oriented, comprehensive primary health care delivered by competent health care professionals.

Keynotes and pre-conference workshops addressed the theme of Risky behaviours and healthy outcomes in primary health care with state-of-the-art evidence, highlighting the importance of family medicine for efficiency in health promotion and preventive care.

Workshops and Speakers

The workshop Approach to substance misuse-abuse in primary health care; screening and brief interventions was chaired by Martin von Fragstein (University Nottingham, UK) and Tijen Sengezer (Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey).

The workshop Sampling and techniques in qualitative research: what you always wanted to know was chaired by Lieve Peremans and Etiënne Vermeire (University of Antwerp, Belgium) and Pemra C Ünalan (Marmara University, Istanbul,Turkey).

The workshop How can behaviour change be measured and understood? Materials and methods was chaired by Dilek Güldal (Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey) and Serap Çifçili (Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey).

The workshop Developing and validating translations of questionnaires: theory and practice was chaired by Berend Terluin (VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Erhan Eser (Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey).

The first keynote speaker on Friday was A/Prof Esra Saatçi, Department of Family Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana-Turkey who talked about Risky Behaviours in High School Students.

The second keynote speaker was Dr Martin von Fragstein, School of Community Health Sciences, Department of Primary Care, Nottingham, UK and the theme of his lecture was Risky Behaviour in general practice :The clinical approach to substance abuse-misuse and addiction in primary care with a pan- European perspective.

The third keynote speaker of the conference was Dr Toker Ergüder, WHO National Professional Officer, Turkey. who talked about A successfully implemented health promotion and prevention campaign against tobacco use, the Turkish experience.

One of the distinguished guests of this conference was the President of WONCA, Prof Richard Roberts of the USA.

EGPRN: Election of the new Chair and new Executive Board.

As well as the conference, there were elections for the new EGPRN Chair and Executive Board members, who are:
Jean Karl Soler (Malta): Chair
Mehmet Ungan (Turkey): Vice Chair and WONCA Europe Liason person
Davorina Petek (Slovenia): Honorary Secretary
Kristin Hendrickx (Belgium): Honorary Treasurer
Caroline Huas (France): Executive Board member
Ferdinando Petrazzuoli (Italy): Chair of the Educational Committee
Esperanza Diaz (Norway): Chair of research
Tiny van Merode (The Netherlands): Chair of Public Relations and Communications Committee

EGPRN and EURIPA joint meeting Attard, Malta, 17-20 October 2013

EGPRN and EURIPA are proud to announce their first joint meeting which will take place in Attard, Malta, from 17-20 October, 2013.

The theme of the conference will be Research into different contexts in General Practice/Family Medicine: rural versus urban perspectives. The project follows discussions held at the WONCA meetings in Warsaw and Vienna, where members of both Executive Boards agreed to have one of the first such inter-network meetings within WONCA Europe. This joint meeting on research in family medicine with the special topic of “context” and how it affects health care in family medicine is a unique opportunity for collaboration between two network organisations within WONCA Europe. This will be indeed a network meeting of networks!

The conference, will take place on the small Mediterranean island of Malta, which has been at the crossroads of trade and inter-cultural exchange, for more than 6000 years. The conference fee is very affordable, and with contained costs, coming to Malta with its strong international connections should be painless and easy.

The scientific programme is expected to be very exciting, with input for the first time from two organisations, offering a unique blend of research and expertise. Key note speakers with links to both organisations shall give the meeting an apetising opening, and the meeting is expected to be well attended, with participants from both networks. Even the business meetings and social events of the two groups will be parallel and joint as appropriate. A new approach to working together.

Jean Karl Soler (Malta) EGPRN Chairp
Mehmet Ungan (Turkey): EGPRN Vice Chair and WONCA Europe Liaison person
Ferdinando Petrazzuoli (Italy): EGPRN Executive Board & Chair of the Educational Committee