MSc in Migrant Health: Addressing New Challenges in Europe – CHANCE

An ERASMUS Lifelong Learning Program (2010)

A Brief Introduction

The number of migrants in the enlarged European Union is increasing rapidly and in the EU 25 is estimated as high as 50 million. Addressing migrant health goes beyond issues of differing morbidity profiles and vaccination status linked to country of origin or potential for spreading diseases. Assistance tailored to migrants' needs is an essential prerequisite of their smooth and successful integration. Its success has clear economic impact and benefits, and increases the public health safety of the host countries. Although this rapidly increasing need for specially trained professionals capable coping with this complex, multidisciplinary task - where health, human rights and intercultural aspects are equally represented - is more and more recognised, at present there is significant shortage of formal higher education programs in Europe aiming to build the human resource capacity that will address this new challenge.

The consortium's main objective is to develop and implement a Master-level curriculum in Migration Health. The academic content is built around six competencies: epidemiology and research methodology, environmental medicine and occupational health, economic / health economic impact of migration, organization and systems management, clinical and public health assessment, and social and behavioural aspects of migration including multicultural, multireligious aspects and their health/ mental health impact. The academic year will be fourteen months in length, consisting of three fourteen week semesters and six weeks devoted to the completion of a practicum and pursuit of an individually designed project. The program will match the EU standard criteria and will provide 120 credit (according to the European Credit Transfer System /ECTS) in addition to the candidates minimum required BA level diploma.
Newsletter 2012/2

Click here for more information 

What is dissemination?

According to the European Commission dissemination is “a planned process of providing information on the quality, relevance and effectiveness of the results of programmes and initiatives to key actors. It occurs as and when the results of programmes and initiatives become available.”

It is important to spread the results of such programmes to transfer knowledge and experience, moreover to positively influence future EU policy making.

 Several ways of distributing information can be applied in the dissemination process in writing and interactively. In writing the forms that are used widely are the following: newsletters, magazine articles, press releases, articles for newspapers on different levels, brochures, leaflets and compendiums and directories. Interactive methods are for example the development of a website, creation of a mailing list and giving presentations (any type) on conferences, workshops or meetings.

Let's see how the CHANCE Consortium applied this wide range of methods during the project.

(source: www.ec.europa.eu)

Conference presentations, lectures

Dr Ursula Wisiak introduced the outline of the CHANCE project – Planning the New Project: CHANCE – at the conference titled Medizin im Konflikt der Kulturellen in Graz on 21 September 2010. She highlighted that it is a very important project for their department regarding migrant patients, the training of the staff and education of students. The aim of this announcement was to seek new partners and collaborators who are interested in the project.

Dr Istvan Szilard gave a presentation titled Addressing Migrants' Health: Goals and Achievements done until now of a Newly Established EU Level Academic Consortium at the titled Good Practices in the Sectors of Health, Welfare and Social Security in Athens between 27 and 28 June 2011. Dr Szilard explained the objectives of the project, and introduced the first steps that had been taken already. Dr Istvan Szilard introduced the CHANCE project thorough his presentation titled Recognising  w Challenges: Curriculums Addressing New European Priorities at the in Vienna at the Vienna University of Economics and Business between 22 and 23 September 2011. Dr Ursula Wisiak announced the project on the . The conference  discussed transcultural aspects in psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatic in German language with 180 participants from German speaking countries in Klagenfurt between 23 and 25 September 2011. Dr Wisiak raised interest in several colleagues for the CHANCE project which was found a useful initiative. Dr Ursula Wisiak gave a lecture on the event titled where national and international partners and collaborators of the University Clinic of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Graz and non-profit organisations participated on 8 November 2011. Her presentation was focused on care givers' intercultural competence in the interaction with migrant patients. The CHANCE project served as a basis for this particular presentation.

Dr Istvan Szilard introduced the project with the title MSc in Migration Health: A New Curriculum Addressing New European Priorities at the Conference of the on 25 November 2011. Dr Gudrun Biffl presented the main findings of a research project on “mental work strain and its consequences” (which was undertaken by the Department of Migration and Globalisation at the Danube University Krems in cooperation with the Austrian Institute of Economic Research) at a stakeholder meeting in St. Poelten, and two symposiums in Vienna, and in 2012. In the context of this presentation, also the Department´s study programmes in the field of migration and health were introduced: Besides the Department´s Master-course on “Migration and Health”, also the joint ERASMUS CHANCE project has been presented to the audience, which consisted of regional stakeholders in the broad field of workplace health promotion.

Dr Jeanette Riedel presented the CHANCE project including the learning objectives of each module with the title MSc in Migrant Health: Addressing New Challenges in Europe and in Higher Qualification of GP-sat the in Jakisnica between 11 and 13 May 2012. The session was attended by 45 general practitioners from rural areas, and the project was welcomed with great interest. The general topic of the session was the development of higher qualification in rural health and according to the increasing necessity of professionals in migrant health to meet the expected demand.

Dr. Ursula Wisiak presented on the with the title Masterstudium in Migrantengesundheit between 17 and 18 May 2012. This Austrian conference for medical psychology is a meeting point for professionals from the Graz, Innsbruck and Vienna region.