Various disciplines coincide on the need to focus on encouraging community involvement and on identifying needs and the resources to address them. The programme brought together students and professors from master’s programmes in six countries

From 6 to 15 November, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) hosted for the first time a conference, in the format of a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), on community public health. Titled “Community engagement in public health: strategies and interventions in health promotion,” the event was organized by the Faculty and Department of Nursing and the International Centre of the URV, and supported by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. The conference brought together over twenty students and professors from master’s programmes in six countries (Portugal, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Brazil) and was open to nurses from around the world. Health and disease are established as fundamental aspects of the well-being or discomfort of the population and are shaped by biological, social, or economic factors. For this reason, this BIP sought to address the issue of community public health from various disciplines, such as nursing, anthropology, medicine, and sociology, among others.

Can we live with health, dignity, and equity?

The conference was framed within the context of the 2030 Agenda, adopted in 2015 by the United Nations Resolution. One of the challenges in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda is ensuring that all people can develop their potential and live with health, dignity, and equity. Thus, the specific aim of this conference was to highlight the need to encourage community and citizen participation in the public health sector and to identify the needs and resources of the population so that they can be addressed.

The conference focused on community interventions and the participation and involvement of citizens in public health. The community perspective applied to public health requires an interdisciplinary approach, as reflected in the conference participants, and regards citizens as the central element of all actions.

During the conference, current issues were discussed, such as public health challenges, the integration of ethical values to build a healthier future for everyone, and the impact of COVID-19 on primary care, which has exacerbated inequalities and highlighted the need for new models.

Despite being affected by the heavy rain warning, the conference, held at the URV’s Catalunya and Terres de l’Ebre campuses, included a wide variety of activities, such as seminars, workshops, round tables, visits, and cultural events.