Webinar Communicating Public Health and Social Measures in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic: focus on the Balkan and Black Sea regions

Istituto Superiore di Sanità promotes this webinar to support the Covid-19 response in MediLabSecure and MediPIET partner countries, and as a follow up to the training course on “Preparedness and Response to the Health Emergency from novel Coronavirus”.

Webinar
Communicating Public Health and Social Measures in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic: focus on the Balkan and Black Sea regions

Thursday, May 27th, 2021
2:30pm – 3:45 pm CEST | Italy, Spain, Western Balkan countries
3:30 pm – 4:45pm TRT/EEST | Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova
4:30pm – 4:45pm GET/AMT | Georgia, Armenia

Duration : 75 min

Pandemic waves are recurring and vaccine distribution is only gradual: many countries, therefore, have to continue to manage the pandemic through Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM), and to continue to implement them throughout their vaccination campaigns: PHSM include individual, environmental surveillance and response, and social/physical distancing measures, along with movement and travel restrictions.

The webinar will update the debate on PHSM, with a focus on effective communication with the public to promote acceptance, uptake and adherence to PHSM in the Balkan and Black Sea regions.
Working language: English. Please note that the webinar will be recorded.

Objectives

Review evidence available on relevant, feasible and effective approaches to promote acceptance, uptake and adherence to physical distancing measures for COVID-19 prevention.
Locate those approaches in the contexts of Balkan and Black Sea countries, also considering the ongoing vaccination campaigns. The webinar is open to all MediLabSecure and MediPIET network members. External participants (national or international organizations, public health experts or students) are welcome.

The webinar is open to all MediLabSecure and MediPIET network members. External participants (national or international organizations, public health experts or students) are welcome.

Program

Welcome
Silvio Brusaferro, President, Istituto Superiore di Sanità

Introduction
Maria Grazia Dente, National Centre for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, on behalf of MediLabSecure and MediPIET

What are relevant, feasible and effective approaches to promote acceptance, uptake and adherence to physical distancing measures for COVID-19 prevention and control
Marge Reinap, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

Covid-19 conspiracy beliefs and containment-related behavior: The role of political trust in Western Balkan countries
Tijana Karić, Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade

Communication strategies during emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic
Valentina Possenti, National Centre for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion -Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome

Discussion and conclusion

Panelists

Marge Reinap has a Master’s degree in Economic Sciences from the Tallinn University of Technology, has complemented her education at Erasmus University in Rotterdam on health-related topics and is finalizing her Master of Science studies on Global Health Policies in London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Reinap has been the Head of Health Policy in the Ministry of Social Affairs in Estonia and since 2012 Head of the WHO Country Office in Estonia; she is now Technical Officer on Evidence for Policy Development in the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.

Tijana Karić has a PhD in Social and Political Psychology and since 2018 is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade, Serbia. Her primary research focus is the investigation of social identities and intergroup relations, with a special focus on reconciliation, prejudice and discrimination.

Valentina Possenti graduated in Communication and post-graduated in Health Economics. She gained more than 15 years of experience in working on national and international projects on health communication and promotion, based on wide-ranged professional networks. At European level, she is currently involved in the ISS reference group of the Third Programme project IMMUNION (on vaccine and vaccination promotion) and in the H2020 project STOP (on childhood obesity).

This webinar is the third of a series of three meetings on PHSM, conceived as a follow up to the training course ‘Novel Coronavirus Health Emergency: Preparedness and Response’, promoted by Istituto Superiore di Sanità in the frame of the MediLabSecure project. The first webinar was held on March 3rd, the second webinar on March 30th, 2021