Measure blood pressure, blood sugar, check out the basics of a healthy diet "What is my blood pressure? What about my blood sugar?" Visitors to the Olympia Shopping Centre could find out this and much more at another World Health Day event.
The World Health Day awareness and prevention event, which has a tradition of more than ten years, was organised on the occasion of World Health Day, which is declared by the WHO on 7 April, on the weekend of 20 and 21 April in the Olympia Brno shopping centre.
The event featured fourteen stations focusing on different aspects of human health and was intended for all ages. "The stations measuring blood pressure and blood sugar levels are in great demand and the most visited, because visitors want to check how they are doing," said Gabriela Lyčková, a member of the organising team. Volunteers pointed out the importance of regular checks and treatment of high blood pressure or diabetes. There was also great interest at the station with dental students who informed visitors about proper oral hygiene.
The event also included preventive measures in the field of reproductive health and education about human papillomavirus (HPV), where volunteers from the Together Safe project explained not only the importance of vaccination against papillomavirus. "We were pleasantly surprised that some visitors already have an awareness that there are some papillomaviruses, and most have HPV linked specifically to cervical cancer in their mind. There are also some who have no idea and we are happy to introduce the issue to them," revealed volunteer and medic Anna.
For the little ones, a fun way of exploring the human organs stored in teddy bears was prepared to relieve children of the so-called white coat syndrome, i.e. the fear of doctors and hospitals.
On Saturday there was the opportunity to have moles checked by dermatologists. On Sunday, the dermatologists were replaced by a station on self-examination of the skin, which aimed to appeal to the importance of regular examination of moles and the use of protection from sunlight.
We also collaborated with physiotherapy and nutritional therapy students who had a fun programme and gave advice.
For the participants who completed most of the stations, a rich raffle with vouchers for wellness, fitness centre and many other things related mainly to healthy lifestyle was prepared.
The whole event was realized thanks to the work of a fourteen-member organizing team of volunteers from IFSMA CZ Brno under the Public health section. The team consisting of enthusiastic students donated more than two hundred hours of their free time to make the event a success. "We are a team of passionate people and we see the sense of planning the event in our free time and giving it our energy. We are happy that the event is always a great success and that we had around 1,200 visitors this year," said Tomáš Sedláček, a fourth-year medical student participating for the second time as an organizer and mainly responsible for promotion.
The awareness-raising event is held twice a year. "We would be happy to welcome everyone to World Diabetes Day, which should take place on the first weekend in November," said the organisers, who believe that the event will continue to grow and become more widely known.
"The event was realized under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, the City of Brno and St. Anne's University Hospital in Brno, to whom we would like to thank. We would also like to thank the sponsors for their support," added the organiser Matej Jankovich. This year, the event was also attended by the Rector of Masaryk University, Professor Martin Bareš, and his family just a few days before his son successfully completed his studies in general medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University. The students were also supported at the event by Professor Eva Brichtová, Vice-Dean for Student Affairs and External Relations at MED MUNI.
Dr. Jana Djakow and Associate Professor Martina Kosinová from the Department of Simulation Medicine at Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine were the first women in the Czech Republic to receive degrees from international professional societies in the field of resuscitation and anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, respectively.
At the beginning of November, six graduates of the Faculty of Medicine received the Masaryk University Vice-Rector's Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies.
