Earlier today, MHSA and MADS teamed up with several other organisations in order to set up a Health Festival at Ta’ Qali. Health care professionals and students alike were able to give out free screenings and advice, giving a chance for the public to check up on their own health, while learning more on how to properly take care of their body. Besides blood pressure and glucose testing, MADS also carried out dental screening, while MHSA provided a wide repertoire of information relating to Speech language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry and Nursing. The Third Eye was able to catch up with Julia Abela and Roberta Curmi, MHSA’s and MADS’ Public Health Officers, and ask some questions regarding their work in organisations promoting health education and awareness.
How can student organisations like MHSA and MADS work in collaboration with governmental organisations and offices to create more awareness on health for adults and children alike?
Roberta Curmi: By collaborating with governmental health organisations and discussing the main health challenges we are facing as a population, we can organise public health events on a more regular basis in various localities. Therefore, by targeting the most important health issues, be it smoking, dental disease, obesity and so on, we will be able to make people more aware if the benefits of leading a healthier life and more motivated to do it!
Julia Abela: First off, it is of crucial importance for those in charge of the student organisation to promote it as much as possible along with its aims, goals and visions in order for the student organisation to be more known to such governmental entities. It is a good idea to look up the WHO list of world health days (a new list is issued each year) and use it as a guideline as to which health issues need more awareness and then create health events accordingly in order to gain more experience in the field of the organisation of health events. When the organisation feels that its health events have reached a certain calibre, it can formally invite members of governmental organisations and offices to collaborate in events raising awareness regarding any current health issues which may be of particular interest to such entities. Committees involving students from various health organisations and governmental entities could also be an option when tackling current health affairs.
There can never be enough promotion on health care, but do you think people are aware of how important it is to exercise regularly, eat healthy, and have check-ups every once in a while?
Roberta Curmi: I think people are aware of the benefits of having a healthier lifestyle as we are surrounded with programmes and articles in the media, but some are unsure as how to start or are not motivated or unable to try. By making it more accessible for these people to seek help by professionals and students alike, and having free check-ups on a more regular basis, they will become more knowledgeable and more determined to try!
Julia Abela: Generally, most people think that check-ups, healthy eating and regular exercise are things that pertain to health freaks or the elderly since they are the ones who are living with illnesses that are “due to old age”. In reality, illnesses of “old age” are not caused by your age, but rather your previous lifestyle habits. Eating healthy and regular exercise can hugely prevent the occurrence of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, stroke, renal failure, liver disease, cancer…the list is endless. Although genetics do play a role in the occurrence of such illnesses, prevention largely reduces your chance of getting them in the future.
Check-ups are also something that should not be ignored; certain deadly systemic diseases are silent and can only be picked up by regular check-ups! No matter the age or lifestyle. Although healthy eating habits and regular exercise are key to preventing disease, unfortunately they give no guarantee that the individual will have no chance whatsoever of living with cholesterol in the future for example. That being said, the incidence of the disease would be much worse should these lifestyle habits be ignored. Renal problems for instance, do not show any symptoms at all in the early and progressive stages, symptoms are usually only experienced when it’s too late. That’s why MHSA organises multiple health events every year where free screening along with appropriate advice and referrals are available to the public. Although we do not offer all forms of screenings and most of our screenings are non-diagnostic (since they do not occur in a clinic), they can give an indication of one’s health status without having to wait for an appointment or paying for the service. People who visit our stands even discover certain tests that they didn’t know of before and therefore MHSA also strives to increase awareness on what the health sector in Malta has to offer.
What are setbacks an individual may come across when trying to abide to a healthy lifestyle?
Roberta Curmi: A busy and hectic work schedule could be one of the major setbacks an individual faces when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But by planning ahead and altering one’s daily routine, the person will adapt and remain motivated in keeping his health a major priority.
Julia Abela: There is a long list of hurdles that the individual who is contemplating converting to a healthy lifestyle and different individuals have different lists of hindrances they encounter when switching to a healthy lifestyle. When it comes to exercise most complain that it is too time consuming, or their lifestyle is too busy to fit in a slot for exercise in their daily routine, or they do not always feel like exercising, exercising can be too laborious for some or they lack motivation. When it comes to eating healthy, the most conspicuous excuse to healthy eating is that unhealthy food tastes much better than healthy food (granted!), or that it’s cheaper, more readily available and quicker to prepare.
However, abiding to a healthy lifestyle is a behavioural change and all forms of behavioural change bring with them a list of setbacks. Why? Well, this is just because the list of “setbacks” are in reality things which we are not yet accustomed to as part of our daily routine and only when they become part of our daily routine will they no longer be viewed as setbacks. In order to succeed in living a healthy lifestyle, the following points must be tackled:
What one behaviour would you like to change?
What is your long-term goal?
What obstacles will you encounter?
What strategies will you use to overcome those obstacles?
What resources do you have?
What rewards will you use to motivate yourself?
It is also important to tackle one undesired behavior at a time, otherwise, trying to make too many resolutions at once will probably result in failure. Tackle one behaviour (such as eating more fresh fruit and veg), stick to it, then, when it successfully becomes part of your daily routine, move on to the next undesired behaviour (e.g. Not enough regular exercise).
Any additional comments in the name of your organisation?
Roberta Curmi: MADS is determined to remain active in the public health sector. We aim to increase the collaboration with other student organisations and governmental organisations, as we can grow as an association and as individuals as we will be more exposed to and more prepared for the challenges we will face as health professionals in the future.
Julia Abela: Although MHSA organises all sorts of events, we believe that health events are the most important as health is the main vision behind MHSA’s name. We strive to increase awareness on various health issues, especially those which are least known to the general public and to increase awareness on what we, Faculty of Health Science students have to offer to the general public as future health care professionals. The lack of awareness there is on the health sciences is alarming, as after all, health care professionals are there, solely to serve the public and to have a healthier, happier society.
