Cooperation with stakeholders
The results of the research projects carried out at the Department of Health Psychology and Research Methodology (DHPRM) offer representative, reliable and valid data on health of target populations. As such, the data is often used as evidence or feedback for policy-makers.
PROMOTING HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN
In 2009, the DHPRM staff took responsibility for coordination of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. In 2019, they published a fourth National Report on health and health-related behaviours in school-aged children in their social context. These reports present high-quality representative data on 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Slovak schoolchildren, which is internationally comparable and can be used in time series analysis. As such, the data is important for development of national policies, strategies, or interventions that promote healthy development of children and adolescents and verification of their efficiency. In connection with this, the DHPRM closely collaborates with the WHO Office in Bratislava, Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic, IUVENTA, Fénix, UNICEF and several other stakeholders.
REDUCING HEALTH INEQUALITIES
Both in the past and nowadays, the DHPRM researchers have been regularly invited as consultants and experts into the working groups dealing with the issues of health inequalities and ways to reduce them. For instance, they were present in the expert group under the project of the Ministry of Health and WHO “Revision of national strategy to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in health”, national team led by dr. J. Kollárová between 2008 and 2011, several Biennial Collaborative Agreements (BCA) between the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic and WHO Office in Slovakia in the 2008-2015 period, expert collaboration with the WHO Offices in Copenhagen, Ljubljana, Venice, Prague, Bratislava and currently membership in the national expert team of the European Social Policy Network supervised by D. Gerbery.
HEALTH POLICY IN RELATION TO MARGINALIZED ROMA COMMUNITIES
Thanks to the long-lasting experience and results of the team in the fields of basic and applied research, the researchers from the DHPRM participate in the development of national and international health policies in relation to Roma populations. The research team was a member of the Technical working group established by the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities, which was supposed to revise the National strategy for integration of Roma (Health priority). Per request of the Institute of Health Policy of the Ministry of Health, we prepared an comprehensive system of monitoring health status in marginalized Roma communities. and prepared the methodology for evaluation of the national project entitled Healthy Communities for the Ministry of Health. The project represents the largest and most developed program of health mediation for segregated Roma communities ever. We cooperated on introducing the new position of Roma health mediators in hospitals. In the field of early childhood, we cooperate with non-profit organizations such as the Carpathian Foundation and The way out (Cesta von), which implements the Omama intervention program focused on the psychomotor development in early childhood. As part of expert activities, we are invited to cooperation and working groups at the State Pedagogical Institute or the Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology.
CHRONIC DISEASES MANAGEMENT
Within the research in chronic diseases, apart from the UPJS clinical departments, the ongoing cooperation with the Fresenius – dialysis services and VUSCH will continue. In connection with the Care4Youth project, we are launching the cooperation with the providers of preventive (Healthcare-Rehabilitation Sanatorium + Diagnostics centre Barca, Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention Centre) and social care (Department of Social-law Preservation of Children and Social Guardianship, Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, and Department of Psychological Counselling Services) for children and adolescents suffering from emotional and behavioural disorders.
PATIENT SAFETY AND SECOND VICTIMS
DHPRM participates in international cooperation with academic institutions, clinics, and other stakeholders within the COST network (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), which focuses on the issue of patient safety and second victims in healthcare.
Editorial Boards of scientific journals
- Editorial board – International Journal of Public Health since 2007 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Editorial board – International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation – journal of APA Division 52 (International Psychology), 2011-2019 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Editorial board – Health Psychology Review since 2013 (Z. Dankulincová);
- Member of the editorial board in the Journal of Clinical Rehabilitative Tissue Engineering Research (J. Rosenberger since 2007);
- Member of the executive board – Open Transplantation Journal Research (J. Rosenberger since 2007).
- Associate Editor – BMC Public Health (P. Kolarčik, od roku 2018)
- Associate Editor – International Journal of Public Health (J. Holubčíková, od roku 2016)
- Guest Editor – Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace (J. Holubčíková, v roku 2018)
International organizations
- Member of the European Network for Positive Psychology (J.Kopcakova, od roku 2017)
- Member of the Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) Europe network (J.Kopcakova, od roku 2020)
- Member of the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) (J.Kopcakova, od roku 2020)
- Member of the Global Matrix 4.0 projektu the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (J.Kopcakova, od roku 2021)
- Member of the Roma health network – European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) (D. Fiľakovská)
- Member of the European Society of Cardiology, European Association of Preventive Cardiology (A. Zelko);
- National delegate in the European Health Psychology Society since 2007 (A. Madarasová Gecková, Z. Dankulincová);
- Member of the European Health Psychology Association since 2012 (J. Kopčáková, Z. Dankulincová, P. Kolarčik, D. Brindová, A. Belák, J. Holubčíková);
- National delegate in the Regional Roma Health Intelligence Centre since 2009 (P. Kolarčik);
- Member of the KDIGO Implementation Task Force Group (J. Rosenberger since 2010);
- Principal investigator of the HBSC study (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) since 2008 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Member of the national HBSC team since 2012 (Z. Dankulincová, J. Kopčáková; D. Brindová, J. Holubčíková, D. Bobáková, P. Kolarčik, L. Bosáková)
Academic Institutions
- Member of the Academic Senate at the FM UPJŠ (A. Madarasová Gecková 2011-2015);
- Representative of the FM UPJŠ in the Higher Education Council of the Slovak Republic (A. Madarasová Gecková 2011-2015);
- Member of the Scientific Council at the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, Palacky University in Olomouc since 2014 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Member of the Scientific Council at the Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacky University in Olomouc since 2014 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Member of the Scientific Council at the Faculty of Business Economics, University of Economics with seat in Košice (L. Bosáková);
- Member of the committee for PhD defences in the field of “Medical Sciences”, University of Groningen (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Supervisor of the PhD studies in the field of Public Health at the FM UPJŠ since 2011 (A. Madarasová Gecková); Z. Dankulincova, P. Kolarcik (since 2016); D. Filakovska (since 2017); J. Holubcikova, D Husarova, J.Kopcakova (since 2020);
- Associate supervisor of the PhD studies in the field of Public Health at the FM UPJŠ since 2011 (D. Bobáková, P. Kolarčik);
- Supervisor of the PhD studies in the field of Kinanthropology at the Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacky University in Olomouc since 2014 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Supervisor of the PhD studies in the field of Spiritual and Social Aspects of Health at the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, Palacky University in Olomouc since 2015 (A. Madarasová Gecková);
- Member of the PhD studies committee for the study program 3.1.10 General and Experimental Psychology, study program General Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov since 2015 (A. Madarasová Gecková).
Expert groups
- Member of the advisory expert team of Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, Healthy Regions, for the pilot position of health education assistants in the hospital environment (D. Fiľakovská), 2017 – 2019
- Member of the expert group in the European Social Policy Network project, national team led by Dr. D. Gerbery (A. Madarasová Gecková).