Current collaborations with health institutions

The University’s current collaborations with health institutions can be grouped into four major areas, namely educational, practice-oriented, research-related and outreach/ health promotion activities. These partnerships are multifaceted and they are in the context of student training activities, the collaborative development of clinical protocols and/or as partners in research projects and outreach activities. In terms of student training, all the Departments of the School of Health Sciences at CUT enjoy close partnerships with all local hospitals, health centres and schools in the city of Limassol as well as nationwide in the context of clinical placement of nursing, midwifery, speech therapy and public health students. These collaborations are too many to list and cover both the public sector (i.e. MoH and all local hospitals/health centres) and the private sector/NGOs.(e.g. Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, German Oncology Centre, Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends, Cardiac patients’ associations, Anticancer Association, Cyprus Stroke Association and many more). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed with these organizations.

Furthermore, CUT is represented in several National Strategy Committees, Scientific Advisory Committees, working groups, etc which address national Public Health priorities and hence directly influence the national policy on these matters – (also, SDG17). For instance,

  1. National Committee for the promotion of Breastfeeding and Advisory sub-committee/ Working Group for the Certification of Baby-friendly Hospitals,
  2. National Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the development of National Strategy for the promotion of normal birth (reduction of Caesarean sections) and prevention of prematurity,
  3. Scientific Advisory Committee for the development of the Patient Satisfaction/Patient-reported Experience within the new General Healthcare System (GeSY),
  4. National Committee for developing the first National Strategy for Mental Health in Cyprus, and many more.

Through these activities, CUT is in the position to directly influence and drive national policy on these matters. Recognising the importance of driving bottom-up change, in a country such as Cyprus with slow processes in terms of public health/ healthcare policy, CUT has developed several strategic partnerships with NGOs and grassroots organisations in the context of research, training and public outreach activities. For instance, Cyprus Federation of Patient Associations – scientific advisory groups.

Also, CUT academic staff are founding members of many Scientific Bodies and Associations such as: (1) Cyprus Atherosclerosis Society, (2) Cyprus Epidemiology and Public Health Association, (3) Cyprus Psychologists Association (CYPSA) and many more.

A full list of existing and new collaborations established in 2023 can be found here. Some selected examples are listed below:

Local collaboration

  1. Development of a Model Health Centre (discussion in progress)- a partnership between the School of Health Sciences, CUT and the State Health Services Organization to replace the old Limassol Hospital and incorporate existing and develop new healthcare clinics within the School of Health Sciences’ campus, https://www.cut.ac.cy/news/article/?contentId=510240.
  2. Scientific Advisory Board of NGO Birth Forward – ambassador for parents wishing to make autonomous choices about their own and their families’ welfare throughout the full cycle of creating a family (O. Kolokotroni, N. Middleton, E. Hadjigeorgiou), https://birthforward.com/scientific-advisory-board.
  3. An education program on Patient Triage has been developed within the framework of collaboration between the Pancyprian Association of Nurses and Midwives (P.A.S.Y.N.M) and the Nursing Department of the Cyprus, https://www.cut.ac.cy/news/article/?contentId=543370.

National collaboration

  1. Secretariat Committee (National) for the contextualisation of NICE guidelines to the Cyprus healthcare setting and services (Kolokotroni, member) by the Health Insurance Organisation and all stakeholders (Scientific bodies/ associations, patient associations, Ministry of Health), https://case-studies.nice.org.uk/CyprusHIO/index.html.
  2. The School of Health Sciences, Dept of Nursing is leading the initiative of the Cyprus Ministry of Health to redesign School Health Services in the Post-Pandemic Era. Following a participatory action research methodology,  a series of workshops and focus groups involving all stakeholders was organised, aiming at co-developing the strategy for re-designing the School Health Services, in collaboration with the Department of Medical Services and Public Health Services of the Ministry of Health, https://www.cut.ac.cy/news/article/?contentId=517960.
  3. CUT academics founded in partnership with academic colleagues from all Universities across the island the first Cyprus Epidemiology and Public Health Association (CyEPHA), which despite its very short life has been very active, participating in 2023 for the second time in the European Public Health Week, as national representative of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), https://www.cyepha.org/about-us/who-we-are/.

Global cooperation

  • Prof Andreas Charalambous, President of European Cancer Organisation, https://www.europeancancer.org/content/andreas-charalambous.html.
  • TRANSiTION – Digital Skills for Clinical and non-Clinical Professionals – The innovative, two-year research project aims to enhance the digital skills of professionals involved in cancer healthcare across Europe. The project aims to reach 9,000 caregivers at 13 institutions (see below) – from general practitioners to specialists, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, senior staff and many more. The 1st Transnational Meeting was held on May 4-5, 2023, in Limassol. A total of 25 organizations from 14 European countries participate in the project, which aims to implement the EU Beating Cancer Plan, and is financed under the EU4HEALTH pillar, of the European Union,https://www.europeancancer.org/resources/news/transition-launch-press-release.
  • European Lifestyle Medicine Organisation, Member of Scientific Council, Dr. O. Kolokotroni, Dept Nursing, CUT, https://www.eulm.org/kolokotroni.