Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 18, 2018 (SKNIS): The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in collaboration with the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, and in particular the Ministry of Health, will be hosting the 63rd CARPHA Health Research Conference in St. Kitts, which promises at least five tangible benefits.
The conference takes place from June 14th -16th, 2018 at the St. Kitts Marriot Resort following a number of public events, including town hall meetings and a meeting for CARICOM Chief Medical Officers.
While appearing on Wednesday’s April 18th edition of “Working for You”, Executive Director of CARPHA, Dr. C. James Hospedales, highlighted some of the benefits that the upcoming conference will have.
He said that the conference will bring public good in terms of consciousness about healthier living, the training and acquisition of new skills for attendees, policy support for the government, connections to funding opportunities, and health sector improvements.
“It’s a regional and global public good. It’s new knowledge to learn, study and reflect on how this applies to us and how we can use it,” he added.
Dr. Hospedales noted that the conference will be a great medium to foster dialogues on various policy changes that can be implemented throughout the region to support healthier lifestyles. He also said that the policy discussions will involve inputs from various prime ministers and senior health officials from across the region.
The conference will bring a number of international partners who may be able to provide funding for research projects in the federation, Dr. Hospedales said.
“We will have people who are going to have new connections and possibly get new lines of funding for their work in St. Kitts and Nevis or in the region because we have a lot of international partners attending so we hope to see some partnerships catalysed,” he said.
Marketing Consultant for the CARPHA Health Research Conference, Ms. Chereca Weaver, added that persons in the health sector will stand to benefit immensely from the conference because they can get credits towards their continuing education requirements at a minimal cost. She also highlighted that it can be beneficial to medical practitioners and students looking to sharpen their skills or gain knowledge from the rich research interactions that will take place.
“The conference is going to create an atmosphere to provide continuing medical education credits that these nurses who may need to get their registration process completed. It would be to your advantage to go and look at the research posters that will be on display. You will be getting first-hand information from some of the region’s top researchers,” Ms. Weaver said.
