Invite to an In-person Interactive Workshop to Advance Action on SDoH [Geneva]

Advancing the Social Determinants of Health during the World Health Assembly

Dear Colleague

Is it possible to share in HIFA Network the following announcement?

Thanks a lot for your precious help

Dr Eric Comte Director of the Geneva Health Forum https://genevahealthforum.com

HIFA profile: Eric Comte is Executive Director, Geneva Health Forum, External Affairs Directorate, Geneva University Hospitals. eric.comte AT unige.ch

Bonjour,

We are pleased to invite you to take part in an interactive workshop dedicated to advancing action on the social determinants of health.

Forty years after the Ottawa Charter, there is broad consensus on the importance of health promotion and the determinants of health. Yet, translating this knowledge into effective policies and concrete action remains a major challenge. In a context marked by climate change, growing inequalities, rapid urbanisation and geopolitical instability, the need for more integrated, preventive and equity-oriented approaches has never been greater.

Building on this observation, this session will bring together, NGO, practitioners, policymakers and experts to move beyond general principles and focus on what really enables implementation in practice. Through the exchange of real-world experiences and case studies, participants will collectively identify actionable lessons, key barriers, and practical ways forward.

The expected outcome is a set of clear, operational messages to strengthen collaboration across sectors and support the implementation of strategies addressing the social determinants of health in diverse contexts. The session will also provide an opportunity to identify concrete avenues for further work, including potential projects that the Geneva Health Forum could support.

The workshop will take place on Tuesday 19 May from 9.00 to 12.30 at Campus Biotech in Geneva.

We would be delighted to count on your participation and active contribution to this important discussion.

👉 More information and registration on the link : https://worldhealthassembly2026.genevahealthforum.com/rethinking-determinants-of-health-in-todays-global-context-from-knowledge-to-action/

Space is limited, so only register if you really want to attend.

Registration is free but required so we can print badges and organize the workshop.

Link with the World Health Assembly discussions

This workshop is directly aligned with the strategic discussions taking place at the World Health Assembly, particularly in relation to document EB158/27 on well-being and health promotion. This report highlights the growing recognition of health promotion and the social determinants of health as essential pillars of public health, while also emphasizing the persistent gaps in implementation and the need to strengthen multisectoral action, governance, and measurable impact.

In particular, it calls for better integration of health promotion across the full continuum of policies and systems, stronger cross-sector collaboration, and a renewed focus on addressing structural determinants of health, including through more effective implementation mechanisms and improved coordination across actors.

Our session contributes to this agenda by focusing on practical experiences and implementation challenges, with the aim of identifying concrete, actionable lessons that can help accelerate the translation of global commitments into real-world action. In doing so, it also seeks to feed into ongoing reflections at the global level and to support more effective implementation of the priorities discussed at the World Health Assembly.

You are receiving this message because you are a member of the community HIFA - Healthcare Information For All.

View this contribution on the web site

c/o HIFA "Help Shape Global Guidance for Rural & Remote Health"

Guidance on Evidence-Based Healthcare Strategies 
to Serve Rural & Remote Communities

Rural and remote communities are not peripheral — they are central to the fabric of our societies.

Through the Communities of Practice for Remote and Rural Health, in collaboration with Rural Wonca, The National Center for Rural Health Professions, Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia, and Rural Doctors Network, we have developed a draft Guidance on Evidence-Based Healthcare Strategies to Serve Rural and Remote Communities.

Now, we are inviting the wider TUFH Network to help strengthen it.

This draft Guidance: 

• Brings a rural lens to global health systems 
• Focuses on access as the defining challenge in rural health 
• Addresses funding, workforce, infrastructure, culture, and equity 
• Recognizes socioeconomic overlays and preventable disease burdens 
• Highlights vulnerable groups, including Indigenous communities, women, the elderly, and people with Disabilities
• Draws on global case studies from Canada, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Ethiopia, and beyond
• Proposes actionable, adaptable strategies grounded in evidence and expert consensus

Importantly, the paper intentionally shifts away from a deficit narrative toward one that recognizes rural strengths, resilience, and community-driven solutions.

We Need Your Input

We are seeking feedback that helps us ensure this Guidance is: 

• Globally relevant across diverse rural contexts 
• Practical and implementable 
• Inclusive of LMIC realities 
• Clear in its recommendations 
• Strengthened by lived experience and frontline practice

Through the consultation survey, we are specifically inviting your reflections on: 

• Clarity of definitions (e.g., rurality, generalist workforce, access)
• Gaps in evidence or missing priority issues 
• Feasibility of implementation strategies 
• Cultural responsiveness and community engagement 
• Additional case studies or models to include 
• Areas needing further research or clarification

Your expertise — whether as a policymaker, academic, practitioner, community leader, or advocate — is essential.

We request your input in any of the following forms by April 30th.

Specific Feedback Forms (Deadline for Feedback is April 30th)

Access Draft Paper 📑<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf9f9591c8ab&id=2d170bf5cf&e=95c553a647>

1. If you have any suggestions on specific content, additional references to cite existing or new information, or other updates, please fill out this form:

Guidance Document - Content Body – Fill out form 📝<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf9f9591c8ab&id=ff3084197e&e=95c553a647>

2. If you have any specific information that can be used to include solutions and successes that could better reflect rural realities for each of the document sections, please fill out this form:

Guidance on evidence-based healthcare strategies to serve rural and remote communities. – Fill out form 📝<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf9f9591c8ab&id=392220cca9&e=95c553a647>

3. If you have specific lessons from regions that can be included in the Guidance Document, please fill out this form:

Guidance Document - Lessons Learned from Different Regions – Fill out form 📝
<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf9f9591c8ab&id=de2ab21951&e=95c553a647>

4. If you have specific evidence that can be used to describe the relative contribution of patient factors and access factors in rural disease, please fill out this form:

Evidence-based relative contribution of patient and access factors for rural disease – Fill out form 📝<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf9f9591c8ab&id=3d8527953c&e=95c553a647> 

Communities of Practice

Why This Matters

Health disparities in rural and remote communities are rarely about incidence alone. They are about access, equity, and systems design.

This Guidance aims to support: 

• Policymakers designing rural-responsive systems 
• Health workforce planners 
• Universities and training institutions 
• Community health leaders 
• Global partners advancing Universal Health Coverage

Join us at TUFH 2026 in Manila, Philippines
https://tufh2026.com/

We look forward to welcoming you for TUFH 2026! 

If you need assistance with registration or have any other questions, please contact -
secretariat AT thenetworktufh.org

Join The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH): https://thenetworktufh.org/

You are receiving this e-mail from the Office of the Secretariat from The Network: Towards Unity For Health

Our mailing address is: The Network: Toward Unity for Health (TUFH) 970 Sproul Road Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

My source:  David Cawthorpe via HIFA -
HIFA profile: David Cawthorpe is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, Canada. His professional interests include: Human Development, Developmental Psychopathology, and Delivery of low bandwidth medical education curriculum. cawthord AT ucalgary.ca

Problem solving, case formulation and policy formulation

On W2tQ this year, and possibly in a previous paper, or conference presentation, I've stated that the nursing process is basically a problem solving algorithm. Nothing profound there of course. 

'Problem solving' is a developmental threshold and an evolutionary skill obvious in humans, with learning passed on across generations. Evidence of problem solving in animals and nature is becoming increasingly apparent; with examples over recent decades of problems solved not witnessed before.

In healthcare, and psychotherapy more specifically, we shift to case formulation. Again a step-wise process to arise at a sufficiently complete rationale for therapy. Ideally, this extends beyond the individual. As an parent, grandparent, guardian, teacher, supervisor ... teaches a child so therapy is an opportunity for learning and, it must be added, unlearning.

Returning to (and passing on):

Hague, R., & Harrop, M. (2007). Comparative Government and Politics (7th ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapter 18 (pp.377-395) concerns 'Public Policy'. Clearly, here there is a shift from the individual to the collective, population and citizenry. The chapter's second page on 'Initiation and Formulation' quickly provides a flowchart 'Figure 18.1 Stages of the policy process'. Box 18.1 informs readers about 'Rational and incremental models and policy-making' (p.380):

'The key contrast between the two models is this. The rational model views policy formulation as emerging from a systematic search for the most efficient means of achieving defined goals. By contrast, the incremental model sees policy as emerging from a compromise between actors who have goals which are ill-defined or even contradictory. Where the rational model seeks the best policy in theory, an incremental framework seeks out a practical policy acceptable to all the interests involved.' p.380.

The book highlights Simon (1983) as a source for the rational or synoptic model:

 

Simon H.A. (1983) Reason in human affairs. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Plus, for the incremental model:

Lindblom, C.E. 1979. Still muddling, not yet through. Public Administration Review 39: 517–526.

If needed, online, you will find accounts and diagrams on problem solving, the nursing process, case formulation and policy formulation. That's quite a family is it not? 

While not referred to as explicitly today, the nursing process (now routinized) should address parity and integrate care across mental and physical health. The individual (person, patient) should be assessed and care planned with their social and community context taken into account. Collaboration in care should help assure that this is indeed the case. The nursing process in the sociological domain acknowledges the role of parents, guardians, and families as informal carers. The social care sector can also be represented and further the objectives of a more open and integrated care community as per the local situation. While not added to the sciences domain; case formulation should also factor in the physical and political. 

Politically, are all instances of problem solving, and formulation recognised for their importance and influence on outcomes and effectiveness, economy, efficiency (another 'box' p.357), plus efficacy? Are services politically afforded the resources, as defined across the domains of Hodges' model required to deliver, improve and change (achieve sustainability, educational, preventive)? 

The elephant here of course are the determinantS. Ultimately, all these forms of problem solving should be at 'home' in the political domain, but they are rarely there. It is not just the practitioner who can make the difference - be the difference.

Enough of l-implementation

Policy needs to be fit for 21st century purposes, and not hollowed-out but allowed out - beyond the legislative walls where it can make a real difference.

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic -------------------------------------------  mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

Nursing process Case  formulation	Nursing process
Nursing process Case  formulation	Policy formulation

    

See also: https://herbertsimonsociety.org/

 'nursing process' : 'case formulation'

Conquering Today's Health Paradox with the Power of HEAL – An Expert Consensus Report plus Research Priorities and Policymaker Roadmap

A further post will follow with full PR, but the paper is now published:

Article type: Policy Brief
Journal: Frontiers in Public Health - Public Health Education and Promotion
Manuscript ID: 1695757
Received on date: 30 Aug 2025

Abstract

Background. Despite growing scientific evidence and health guidelines, the global health paradox persists, with rising lifestyle-related diseases and escalating healthcare costs exposing the inadequacy of current efforts.

Objective. 3 multidisciplinary congresses were held to generate evidence-based conclusions to tackle the global health paradox.

Methods. 58 experts from 62 entities participated in the international research and knowledge exchange panels. Experts reviewed the latest findings to develop practical strategies, key research and policy priorities, focusing on the “Healthy Eating & Active Living” (HEAL) approach.

Results, Conclusions, and Relevance. The expert consortium endorsed a 33 evidence-based consensual-statement policy roadmap for addressing global health challenges, emphasizing the HEAL approach can significantly contribute to the “Prevention First” appeal and broad ethical, social, ecological, and economic advantages, and eventually policy change.

Wirnitzer KC, Motevalli M, Tanous DR, Drenowatz C, Moser M, Cramer H, Rosemann T, Wagner K-H, Michalsen A, Knechtle B, Fras Z, Ritskes-Hoitinga M, Marques A, Mis NF, Stanford FC, Schubert C, Goswami N, Leitzmann C, Fredriksen PM, Ruedl G, Wilflingseder D, Lima RA, Kessler C, Jeitler M, Khan NA, Joulaei H, Fatemi M, Knight A, Kratky KW, Palmer KK, Haditsch B, Jakse B, Kofler W, Pfeiffer T, Cordova-Pozo K, Tortella P, Straub S, Lynch H, Schätzer M, Krishnan A, Fathima A. S, Gatterer L, Kriwan F, Abhishek M, Nandgaonkar H, Nandgaonkar S, Adedara AO, Haro JM, Gericke C, Neumann G, Akhtar A, Rashidlamir A, Thangavelu M, Ngoumou GB, Perpék É, Klaper M, Bhattacharya B, Kirschner W, Bessems KMHH, Jones P, Peoples G, Bescos R, Duftner C, Seifert G (2025). Toward a roadmap for addressing today’s health dilemma–The 101-statement consensus report. Frontiers in Nutrition, Volume 12:1676080. doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1676080.

 https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1676080

Geneva Health Forum 2025 (May 20-23) - Register Now!

Dear HIFA team

Can you share in your network this information. Thanks for your help

Sincerely

[HIFA profile: Eric Comte is Executive Director, Geneva Health Forum, External Affairs Directorate, Geneva University Hospitals. eric.comte AT unige.ch ]

--------------------------------------------------

Geneva Health Forum 2025 (#GHF2025) is approaching quickly!

Bringing together global health leaders, researchers, frontline practitioners, and policymakers, the annual Geneva Health Forum event serves as a unique platform to exchange knowledge, present innovations, and advance equitable and sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges.

We are present every year during the week of the World Health Assembly, at the end of May, to enable academic and civil society players to make their voices heard during the World Health Assembly.

This 2025 edition will focus on four thematic priorities: • Malnutrition • Climate Change and Health • Migration, Health, and Equity • Digital Health

Each theme will be addressed through evidence-based dialogue, multi-sector collaboration, and a strong emphasis on real-world practices with the potential for broader application and impact.

Please note: registration is free but required individually for each session or event. To secure your participation, visit the dedicated page for the event(s) of interest and click on the “Register” button.

To see the program and to register click on this link : https://conference2025.genevahealthforum.com/

We invite you to secure your spot for this important event by registering today!

We look forward to welcoming you to Geneva very soon!

If you have a question, contact us : contact AT genevahealthforum.com

My source: HIFA

Book: Stories from Care Experienced Adults to Inspire Change

 INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

"In this poignant book, Lisa Cherry brings together a collection of candid and personal reflections on the care system in the UK, offering alternative ways of thinking about the care experience, supporting better ways of working, and providing justification for a trauma-informed lens to be applied to all forms of work with those in care. Through personal insights and reflections, the book brings often-unheard stories vividly to life, beginning with the author’s own. These are stories about love and pain; hurt and isolation; the depth of lived experience that makes up a life; how we live our lives through our relationships with others and where we feel we fit in. In this thoughtfully compiled third edition, original contributors look back on their own reflections from the lives that they live now, new stories bring new perspectives, and discussion points provide the opportunity to consider the realities of the care experience as well as life beyond."

The Brightness of Stars: Stories from Care Experienced Adults to Inspire Change

Stories from Care Experienced Adults to Inspire Change

"Whilst each story is unique, shared themes reveal the truth of the care system and, coming at a time where there is a real opportunity for change, the narratives in this book are ultimately stories of hope and connection. This is crucial reading for policy makers, those working in social work, education and adoption, as well as care experienced adults." [Text c/o Routledge]

Lisa Cherry (2022) The Brightness of Stars: Stories from Care Experienced Adults to Inspire Change
London: Routledge. ISBN 9781032191584 

https://www.routledge.com/The-Brightness-of-Stars-Stories-from-Care-Experienced-Adults-to-Inspire/Cherry/p/book/9781032191584#

My source:

https://twitter.com/CareExp_Culture/status/1606208952437420032?s=20&t=nacOiLCrUFCCuNQiEY4dKw

Int. Congress on Evidence-based Parenting Support (6-8 June 2023)

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Abstract submissions date for the International Congress on Evidence-based Parenting Support (6-8 June 2023) has been extended to 23 December 2022. This global initiative will focus on effective evidence-based parenting support. It will bring together academics, policymakers, practitioners, consumers and service providers to advance research, policy and practice in the field of parenting and family intervention. This international collaboration aims to create global impact that will benefit parents and children now and for the next generation.

We welcome your insights from research, policy and practice that address a wide range of themes. See more on the themes: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/submission

Exciting news for submissions from low- and middle-income countries. The organising committee is pleased to offer free registration for the 20 top ranking abstracts from these countries.

Submissions close: 23 December 2022

More guidelines on abstracts: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/submission

Regards, Maria Battaglia

BEd, GradDip Ed&Pub, MComms Communications Officer Institute of Child Protection Studies Australian Catholic University Pronouns: she/her

Level 1, 232 Victoria Parade East Melbourne VIC 3002 Monday to Friday P: 03 9230 8732 E: Maria.Battaglia AT acu.edu.au W: www.acu.edu.au/icps W: safeguardingchildren AT acu.edu.au T: @ACU_ICPS L: Institute of Child Protection Studies

I-CEPS Congress (hosted by PAFRA) W: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/ Twitter: @PAFRA_Official LinkedIn: ICEPS2023 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICEPS2023

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which I live and work, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

HIFA profile: Maria Battaglia is Communications Officer at the Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University. https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/ E: Maria.Battaglia AT acu.edu.au 

My source: https://hifa.org/

The vast majority of the global population ...

(epigenetics!) conception - infant - PERSON - child - adult - elder
|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------------- mechanistic  

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

families - communities - GROUP - nations - international - planetary

Changing by the artist Alisa Singer
"As we witness our planet transforming around us we watch, listen, measure … respond."

anxiety mood distress	water crops land atmosphere weather oceans extreme heat
... already know it is - "CODE RED" for humanity	COP 26 Political leadership

 

My source: Various today. https://www.ipcc.ch/

Art: https://www.alisasingerart.com/galleries

[c/o HIFA] Lancet Planetary Health: An argument for the naturalistic study of collective intelligence

Citation, extracts and a comment from me below. Full text here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00077-2/

CITATION: An argument for the naturalistic study of collective intelligence Jonathan Nattel, David Akullian
Comment| volume 5, issue 5, e247-e248, may 01, 2021
Published:May, 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00077-2 

SELECTED EXTRACTS 

Over the past decade, corporate-owned digital media—minimally regulated, geared towards profit, and willing to engage a broad range of psychological techniques to command an expansive swath of human attention5—have increasingly caused information to flow around, rather than through, the structures of professional journalism as it makes its way from politicians to the public at large.

The circumvention of professional journalism as a means for filtering, organising, and distributing information has led to multiple distortions of collective perception, including the decontextualisation of information, propagation of false information, and the manipulation of public opinion by agents with a broad variety of interests. 

 the overall result has been an increase in polarisation, fragmented collective perceptions of reality, and the ensuing failures of collective discourse and decision making. All in all, ideal conditions for the emergence of populist, fascist, or dictatorial leadership. 

A study of how information is channelled within a society to support collective wellbeing and decision making might allow us to ask crucial questions, such as when a new technology for communication arrives, in what way is it healthy? In what way is it unhealthy? And in what ways must it be contained?... Given the critical juncture at which humanity currently finds itself, the timing of such a project could hardly be more crucial.

 --

Comment (NPW): 'The circumvention of professional journalism... has led to multiple distortions'. The same could be said for the circumvention of processes required for reliable and actionalble healthcare information to be made available to end users (whether the public, health workers, or policymakers). 

Neil Pakenham-Walsh, 

HIFA Coordinator, neil AT hifa.org www.hifa.org

HIFA: Healthcare Information For All: www.hifa.org 

I  have related concepts from this short work to Hodges' model, followed by a reference that reflects the naturalistic scale of the study suggested here:

individual
|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

[ Multi- ] Context - Situated [ model ] HEALTH WORKERS individual perception & intelligence - literacy Individual values Individual sense making	WELL-BEING of NATURAL WORLD HEALTH WORKERS Physical PROCESSES: Time [Is there an 'Over-arching theory of health communication'?] Channels of information - tech / forms
WELL-BEING of SOCIETY Intergenerational coherence (*amid change*) PUBLIC Social processes: Diffusion, Sharing SOCIO-tech? societies: channels of information? collective perception & intelligence (wisdom of crowds?)	Channels of information - control Journalism Populist, fascist, or dictatorial leadership POLICYMAKERS Digital & other divides? Political processes Electoral Politics

 

 

Jones, P. (1996) An overarching theory of health communication? Health Informatics Journal,2,1,28-34.

[HIFA2015] Article: Why National eHealth Programs Need Dead Philosophers

My source: HIFA2015 Healthcare Information for All by 2015 (edited)

Dear All,

Just read through this article after I received it from the PAHO EQUIDAD listserve.

I have forwarded it to this group with the hope that some of my colleagues here that are interested in ehealth can access it.
It is worth reading...please see the link to the article by Trisha Greenhalgh et al below.

Why National eHealth Programs Need Dead Philosophers:
Wittgensteinian Reflections on Policymakers' Reluctance to Learn from History
Trisha Greenhalgh, Jill Russell, Richard E. Ashcroft, and Wayne Parsons
Queen Mary University of London
The Milbank Quarterly - Volume 89, Number 4, December 2011

Available online at: http://bit.ly/vxvWJ8 

Cheers

[Francis] Ohanyido

<->

This article is an excellent addition to the literature. It combines three of my passions reflected here on W2tQ - informatics, health and philosophy.
Many thanks to Francis Ohanyido and the HIFA2015 list.