The Hellenic Mediterranean University was awarded by the Quality Net Foundation organization, on December 12, 2023 at the Vassilis and Eliza Goulandris Foundation, for the action entitled “Strategies to Strengthen the Communication of Health Professionals with Elderly Users of Health Services”, receiving the Bravo Sustainability Dialogue & Awards. The Quality Net Foundation is a non-profit organization that has been active in Greece since 1997 with the aim of creating a Sustainable Economy – Society that develops with environmental sensitivity and social cohesion. The Bravo Sustainability Dialogue & Awards highlights the initiatives that support and promote a sustainable future, which are implemented in our country by institutions, businesses, local government and civil society. More information about the Bravo Institution Sustainability Dialogue and Awards can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/433xsp94
The Award related to the post-doctoral research of Dr. Aretis Efthymiou entitled “Creation of a toolbox for health professionals to improve detection skills and enhance the health literacy of the elderly”. The research was carried out under the supervision of Associate Professor, Dr. Argyroula Kalaitzakis, from November 2020 until March 2023 at the Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Approaches to Improve the Quality of Life, of the School of Health Sciences of HMU and received funding from HMU.
The Award was received by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation of the Hellenic Mediterranean University, Dr. Athanasios Malamos, together with Dr. Efthimiou Areti.
The action concerns the creation of a series of tools aimed at improving the communication skills of health professionals and further, improving the health literacy of elderly users of health services. Older people with low levels of health literacy find it difficult to evaluate and apply the wealth of medical information they receive, often leading to misconceptions and misinformation and ultimately developing unfounded theories and wrong practices about their health. The need to improve the level of literacy became even more imperative during the pandemic period, so there was a need to be informed about the protection measures. In the context of the present project, improving the literacy level and empowering the elderly users was achieved through the training of health professionals in communication and other related skills.
