KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Area of Interest

My main area of interest at the moment is in maternal and infant health and what aspects can be managed effectively in primary care, in a context of PHC transformation in some areas of Europe. I could think about this in regard to task sharing and skill mix, with reference to countries in both Western and Eastern Europe. I am currently working with Ukraine (and the region), a comparable project in Kenya and in Australia as well as in the UK.

Sally Kendall, MBE, Ph.D., B.Sc. (Hons), RN, RHV, FQNI, MFPH
Professor of Community Nursing and Public Health, University of Kent, UK.
Chair, European Forum for Primary Care
Co-Editor in Chief Primary Health Care Research and Development

I became a registered nurse and health visitor (specialist public health nurse) and family planning nurse in 1982 and worked in SW London until taking up a research post at Kings College London and completing my PhD on the health visitor-client interaction.
As an academic community nurse and health visitor, my main research interest is in primary and community health care, especially research that seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of families and children in the community. I hold a strong belief in working in partnership with parents and patients and understanding their needs to inform research and practice. Much of my academic work has focused on the experiences of patients and families, most recently the experiences of women in Ukraine of perinatal mental health issues.
As a nurse and health visitor I have promoted the role of nursing in primary and community care throughout my career and supervised and managed many studies that examine the nursing contribution to primary health care, with reports on primary care being commissioned by the International Council of Nurses in Geneva. With my co-researchers I developed the TOPSE tool for measuring parenting self-efficacy (www.topse.org) that is now widely used nationally and internationally. This has led to research with Aboriginal communities in Western Australia where I am Adjunct Professor and the Sir Walter Murdoch outstanding International Scholar at Murdoch University. My interest in breastfeeding research stems both from my practice experience with families and my own experience as a mother of two young people breastfed until 15 and 30 months respectively. I recently led the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly project across the UK in collaboration with Yale School of Public Health.
I also have a great interest in mentorship and supporting the health care workforce to develop their clinical and academic careers as a route to bringing transformation to health care delivery and outcomes for patients and families.
In October 2019 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and became a patient during the COVID-19 pandemic, an experience that has been both a personal struggle and very enlightening. I believe strongly that Primary and Community Care should be the route for all people to access the health care they need, when they need it regardless of status or wealth. We can strengthen Primary Care by working together, sharing our experience, knowledge and practice and growing our workforce to meet the needs of our unequal societies.

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge is the WHO Regional Director for Europe. His term began on 1 February 2020, following his nomination by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe and appointment by the WHO Executive Board.

Throughout his career, beginning as a family doctor in Belgium, along a journey to Somalia, Liberia, the prisons in Siberia, former Soviet Union countries, Myanmar and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and most recently leading the Division of Health Systems and Public Health at WHO/Europe for a decade, Dr Kluge has always been committed to achieving better health for all with a focus on the vulnerable.

As Regional Director, Dr Kluge’s vision for the WHO European Region is “United action for better health”, working in partnership to achieve universal health coverage, address health emergencies and promote healthier populations.

Dr Kluge is from Belgium. He is married and has two daughters.

One of the major challenges in generalist practice is to be competent in many areas of clinical knowledge, procedural skills, and evidencebased options for testing and treating. Another is to link all of this ‘doctor’ agenda with the needs, views and unique situation of each person who is their patient. While it is a recurring pleasure of being a GP to enter again and again into the challenge of putting the person at the centre of our practice, we also have to manage our time, our own emotional and intellectual capacity, and offset the needs of the patient in front of us with the many who also need our help. And we know that overload, whether at an individual or systemic level, is a major cause of error and also professional burnout. The additional uncertainties and consequent safety measures which have been introduced by the COVID19 pandemic have added to our dilemmas – how to make safe diagnoses and be patient centred in the remote consultation setting, and how to retain the breadth of our best practice while meeting the added demands of the new context. This keynote will attempt to move beyond these dilemmas to share some lived experience and principles that can guide us to achieve both goals.

Amanda Caroline Howe OBE FRCGP FMedSci is a British medical doctor who works as a general practitioner and is a Professor of Primary Care. She is President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and a former President (first female) of the World Organization of Family.

Early career
She studied at the University of London and Newnham College, Cambridge.
Since her graduation in 1984, Dr Howe has worked as a GP. She was a partner at the Foxhill Medical Centre in Sheffield between the years of 1984–2001. She now practises one day a week at the Bowthorpe Medical Centre in Norwich, England.

Academic medicine
In 1992, Dr Howe became a lecturer. In 2001, as Norwich Medical School was being established, Howe became a Professor of Primary Care at the University of East Anglia.
At the RCGP, Professor Howe was Chair of Research from 2000−2005. She was chair of the Society for Academic Primary Care from 2007–2010. She was elected RCGP Honorary Secretary in 2009. She became a vice-chair of RCGP council in 2013[5] and following this led on professional development, continuing her work as chairwoman of the RCGP workforce committee.
In June 2013, Professor Howe was elected as President-elect of WONCA and in 2016 became the first woman to be President of WONCA.
In June 2019, she was elected President of the RCGP.
She is a fellow of the RCGP and the Academy of Medical Sciences. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to primary care.

Abstract

Family violence is a global public health problem, which constitutes a violation of human rights and is considered a hidden epidemic. Family violence (also named domestic violence, domestic abuse or battering) includes intimate partner violence, child abuse/neglect and elder abuse, among others and can take many forms: physicial, emotional, verbal, sexual, physchological, etc. Its consequences involve serious damage to the physical, mental and social well-being of individuals and families.

Primary health care professionals may be the first or only point of contact for victims who may be hesitant or unable to seek other sources of assistance. These professionals are in the unique position to offer a safe and confidential environment to facilitate disclosure of violence, and provide appropriate support and referral to other resources and services.

Evidence shows that abused women use health care services more than non-abused women, and identify health care professionals as those who they would trust the most with disclosing an abuse. Yet, they tend not to disclose abuse unless specifically asked. Therein lies a problem: most of the practicing physicians have received either no or insufficient education or training in any aspect of family or gender violence.

The scope of the problem is alarming: WHO indicates that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence by intimate partner or non-partner violence in their lifetime. However, experts know that rates of all forms of family violence are underestimated.

Why are we not prepared to face an epidemic like this? What are the reasons behind this lack of knowledge and barriers to take action? How can we, health care professionals in the frontline, assume our roles and responsibilities to provide the best care possible to victims, families and perpetrators?

Raquel Gómez Bravo received her MD from the University Medical School of Malaga and completed her Family Medicine vocational training in Madrid (Spain). She is an expert in Mental Health in Primary Care (University of Alcalá, Madrid) and Toxicological, Traumatology, Pediatric, Cardiovascular, Critical and Infectious Emergencies (University of Barcelona).

She is a passionate general practitioner, who has always combined various working environments; these range from her experience as Chief of Residents (2009-2010) at the Emergency Department of University Hospital La Paz (Madrid) to working as a clinician and consultant in different Emergency Departments and Primary Care settings (rural, urban and islands), to mentoring, supervising and teaching at the Autonomous University of Madrid (2009-2012) and in several institutions about communication skills, family violence, leadership, eHealth, ICT and social media. She has also carried out teaching audits in several Hospitals in Spain, has worked as Freelance QA Editor for BMJ Best Practice and Learning and was a member of the team of the WHO collaborative centre of the Andalusian School of Public Health in integrated health services based on Primary Health Care.

She has been a very active member of the Vasco da Gama Movement (VdGM), establishing the first VdGM Forum, and participating in several organizing, advisory and scientific committees at regional, national and international level. Nowadays she is part of the Executive of the Special Interest Group of Family Violence of WONCA (SIGFV), the WWPWFM executive and editorial board member of Education for Primary Care Journal. She is also member of EURACT, the International section of the Spanish Scientific Society of Family and Community Medicine (semFYC) and the Luxemburgish Scientific Society for General Practice (SSLMG).

For the last 15 years, she has been volunteering, participating in research, educational working groups and contributing to the preparation of more than 40 oral presentations (including keynote speeches), 43 workshops and 37 poster presentations, in national and international conferences (e.g., WONCA Europe, WONCA World, SIAP, EGPRN, EURACT, EURIPA, VdGM Forum, Medicine 2.0, Med-e-Tel, Health 2.0 etc.). The list of presentations is available on request.

Her areas of interested encompass primary care, medical education, family violence, public health, leadership, social media, emergencies, rural medicine and quality. In May 2016, she joined the research group on Self-Regulation and Health at the University of Luxembourg as a Doctoral Researcher under the supervision of Prof. Dr Vögele and co-supervised by Prof. Feder. She is currently developing her PhD project focusing on Family Violence and Medical Education.

In a personal level, Raquel has a multicultural patchwork family, she is married, mother of two kids and living currently in Luxembourg. She enjoys traveling, nature, hiking, art, music, poetry, friends and above all the things, she loves writing.

Twitter: @rqgb
Instagram: @rqgb
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/raquelgomezbravo

Abstract

As the medical needs of people are expected to increase substantially in the immediate future, health care policymakers and providers must rethink the currant modal of providing health care. Two hundred years after the modern hospital revolution, started by pioneers such as Florence Nightingale, the pendulum of place of care, is slowly shifting from the hospitals and clinics, back to our patients homes. Just like the biggest taxi company in the world has no taxi cars of its own (Ubber) and the biggest hotel company in the world has no hotel rooms of its own (Airbnb), so will the largest hospitals in the world, in the vary near future, have no hospital beds of their own. Health care is going back home, or rather to the homes of our patients. It is true for end of life care as it is for acute care. As primary health care providers we must re-define our role in this revolution. This process involves both the macro elements of care coordination, but also the micro process of learning all over again the art of taking care of people in their own home without them having the feeling that we have 'invaded their castles'. We call it 'Being a Professional Guest'. Because even though, it's still about patients, health care providers and medicine-they are not the same patients they were 200 years ago, we are not the same health care providers and it is certainly not the same medicine.

Dr. Ron Sabar MD MBA

Medical Director, Sabar Health
Israel

Dr. Ron Sabar received his MD from Ben-Gurion University Medical School in Israel, and his MBA from INSEAD Fontainebleau, France. He is a specialist in Family Medicine and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Sabar headed the Master’s program in Health Administration in the Recanati Business School, Tel Aviv University.

In 2005, Dr. Sabar founded Sabar Health Ltd. To date, this is the most comprehensive, nation-wide home hospital service in Israel, which provides simultaneous care for approximately 1000 patients. The service has several distinct home-wards: Acute Care, Rehabilitation, Hospice, Dementia, Complex Wound Care and Psychiatry. Sabar Health is a private company that provides a public service, covered by national health insurance. The company’s approach to patient and family care in the home is rooted in respect for individual choice. This approach was reflected in Dr. Sabar’s 2014 TedMed Talk: "The right to die healed, if not cured."

Dr. Sabar is a renowned leader and pioneer in home hospitalization, palliative care and home hospice services. He frequently participates in ministerial and national committees. Dr. Sabar has also served as consultant for several foreign health ministries.

In addition to his professional work, Dr. Sabar is also an avid hiker, and loves trekking and exploring the great outdoors.

Dr Donald Li

MBBS, FHKAM (Family Medicine), FRACGP, FRCGP, FHKCFP, FFPH
President, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA)

Dr Donald Li is a specialist in Family Medicine and private practice in Hong Kong. He is the President of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). He is the Censor of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians. He is the Past President of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and Chairman of the Governing Board of Hong Kong Jockey Club Disaster Preparedness and Response Institute.

Dr Li also dedicates much of his professional time to academia and teaching in Hong Kong and China. He is Honorary Fellow of the University of Hong Kong, Honorary Fellow of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Honorary Professor of Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Honorary Professor of School of Medicine and Honorary Medical Superintendent of Department of General Practice of Shanghai Tongji University, a workshop of General Practice in Shanghai East Hospital, Adjunct Professor of School of Medicine of Zhejiang University. He was awarded Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award by Shanghai Municipal People's Government on 2017 and the Fok Ying-Tung Prize –The World Outstanding Chinese Doctor Award in 2019. He is a registered Mainland China medical practitioner and has contributed to the training and development of family medicine in mainland for over twenty years.

Dr Li is an active member of many Hong Kong governmental, non-government organization and public health bodies. He is the Chairman of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council, Director of Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, a policy thinktank, Director of the Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Association and member of Hong Kong St. John Ambulance council, Honorary Steward of Hong Kong Jockey Club, member of the Steering Committee on Primary Healthcare Development of Food & Health Bureau, member of the Chief Executive's Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development, Chairman of Professional Committee on Medical Health of Belt and Road General Chamber of Commerce, Member of Slope Safety Communication Strategy Advisory Committee of Civil Engineering and Development Department, Honorary Advisor of Agency for Volunteer Service.

Norbert Donner-Banzhoff is a Professor of General Practice at the University of Marburg. His research interests include diagnosis in primary care including diagnostic error, communication and decision making, health services research and cardiovascular disease. He has published books / chapters on continuing medical education (CME), health services research methods, evidence base medicine (EBM) and other topics. A major work on medical diagnosis is in preparation. He conceived and supervised a major research programme developing and evaluating the Marburg Heart Score. Together with other German academic departments he initiated the development of arribaTM, a library of digital decision aids for General Practice. Based on his research in General Practice, he coined the term “Inductive Foraging” describing a central part of the diagnostic process. He is married with two daughters.

Family Doctors are in the frontline of this pandemic, working under high pressure and the threat of becoming ill themselves. They are often the first to assess, diagnose and treat patients with Covid-19. In a short time they adjusted their practices to protect both their patients and themselves from the silent presence of Sars-Cov2. The pandemic has a severe impact on the population, and undoubtedly socially deprived groups are the most affected. Indeed, already existing inequalities are being exacerbated by the current situation. How do family doctors deal with these challenges? How are they managing to protect the most vulnerables? Together with such challenges, this time also presents us with opportunities. Effective approaches underpin the value of a strong Primary healthcare system, and of the core values of family medicine. In our lecture we will show evidence of the impact of Covid-19 on Family Practice and the importance of strong primary care collaboration, as well as a practical example on how to deliver person-centred integrated Primary Care to vulnerable groups.

Andrea Canini is a specialist in Family Medicine and holds a Master’s Degree in Collective Health from the University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil). His main area of interest and research is Primary Health Care, in particular regarding professionals’ education and migrant health. In 2014-15 he has been leading an education project between Italy and Brazil called “Universsi”, aimed at fostering interest and activism of students and researchers towards the Primary Care Systems of both countries. In 2017 he contributed to the creation of a campaign called “2018: PHC Nor or Never”, which advocates for a radical renewal of the Italian primary care system. Since 2018, he is an executive board member of the European Forum for Primary Care and the coordinator of the youth section (You&EFPC) of the forum. In the same year he was selected by the WHO to join the “Young Leaders Network” (YLN) and attended the Astana Global Conference in Primary Health Care. In 2019 he has worked in Sierra Leone with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) as outreach doctor in a project targeting maternal and child health. Since March, Andrea has been working on Covid-19 response in Italy, working in the Special Units of Primary Care and in two shelters for homeless people.

Prof. Dr. Maria van den Muijsenbergh (1956) is general practitioner for over 35 years and researcher at Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and at Pharos, the Dutch centre of expertise on health disparities. Her chair on “health disparities and person centered integrated primary care” focusses on the possible contribution of primary care in reducing existing socio-economic and ethnic health disparities, and how healthcare best can be tailored to the needs of socially deprived patients, like migrants or persons with limited health literacy. To achieve this, person centred instead of disease centred healthcare is the key, with a focus on and in collaboration with the wider community, healthcare and social services – thus integrated care. She is member of the executive board of the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC) and of the WONCA special interest group on migrant care and international medicine.