Monday, 14 November 2016
Global Bridges and Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning and Change have recently announced $2 million in grant funding for 11 new projects focused on treating tobacco dependence in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. The grants were awarded following a competitive review of proposals for projects that will help more Europeans to improve their health by stopping tobacco use with support from healthcare professionals.
Dr George Samoutis, Deputy Head of the Department of Primary Care and Population Health at the University of Nicosia Medical School
One of the awarded projects ‘TiTAN’ (Tobacco treatment TrAining Network) involves the two Greek speaking Mediterranean countries, Cyprus and Greece. Both countries have the highest smoking prevalence among members of the European Union, estimated at slightly above 38% of the adult population. The project aims to expand the Global Bridges Tobacco Treatment Training Network in both Cyprus and Greece. It will generate a large network of Primary Healthcare (PHC) practitioners in both countries to be trained in evidence-based tobacco treatment. Dr George Samoutis, Deputy Head of the Department of Primary Care and Population Health at the University of Nicosia Medical School will lead the Cyprus team.
The target is to train a minimum of 300 PHC practitioners (champions). They will be empowered with new knowledge, skills, and practice tools and resources and they will serve as key opinion leaders locally. The end goal is to have an organized tobacco treatment network tailored to the realities of PHC in both countries that will take advantage of both national and international expertise as well as of local champions to benefit patients.