The Institute for Population Health (IPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) recently celebrated 10 years of advancing population health in Qatar, the region and beyond.
According to Population Health and Lifestyle Medicine Vice Dean Dr Ravinder Mamtani, IPH was established to support the goals set out in Qatar National Vision 2030 to proactively support and improve the health of all people in Qatar through pioneering research, evidence-based public health interventions, educational health programmes targeted at all demographics, and by generally empowering the community with the skills and knowledge to live healthy, happy and long lives. Dr Mamtani co-founded the IPH in 2011 under its original name, Division of Global and Public Health.
A decade of multi-faceted approach to enhancing human health
Throughout its decade of operation, the IPH has taken a multi-faceted approach to enhancing human health by supporting programmes that tackle non-communicable diseases – such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity – and emerging challenges such as COVID-19.
The IPH pursues this goal by conducting groundbreaking research and implementing evidence-based initiatives to promote healthy lifestyle habits, promoting road safety and encouraging personal hygiene practices. These measures are of critical importance because preventable lifestyle-related diseases are now the biggest cause of premature mortality worldwide and are of concern in the Gulf region.
IPH Assistant Dean Dr Sohaila Cheema said they always believed that health problems are best addressed by cooperative approaches, guided by scientific evidence and executed through community engagement.
Ultimately, she said they aim to improve both longevity and quality of life for all members of the community and to bridge research gaps where they exist.
We are extremely gratified by the success we have enjoyed in these endeavours over the past ten years and heartened by the way the community groups we have engaged with have responded with such positivity.
Promoting population health
According to Sheikh Dr Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Director of the Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health and Associate Professor of Clinical Population Health Sciences at WCM-Q, he closely followed the progress and achievements of IPH over the last decade and have been impressed by its commitment and devotion to promoting population health in Qatar. He said that initiatives tailored to the needs of the community have yielded positive results.
Looking to the future, the Public Health Department at MoPH looks forward to working with IPH on many new projects that will help us achieve our common aspirations and further contribute to the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 and the health of people right across our region and beyond.
WCM-Q Dean Dr Javaid Sheikh also offered his warmest congratulations to the IPH team. He said that for ten years, they worked with great imagination, energy and diligence to enhance the health of the population.
I am certain the IPH will continue to thrive for many years into the future, helping to improve the quality and length of life for all members of our global community.
Community engagement
The IPH goes into schools and local businesses and engages with community groups to share information and guidance about healthy lifestyles, as well as offer a wide variety of courses, seminars and workshops for healthcare professionals and researchers.
To date, the certificate programme has provided 130 healthcare professionals with evidence-based guidance on lifestyle medicine education to evaluate, prevent, treat, and reverse lifestyle-related diseases. IPH supports the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM) in administering its examination, which has thus far allowed 35 physicians and other healthcare professionals to gain IBLM certification. The IPH also offers workshops on Understanding the Basics of Health Research and an introduction to systematic reviews.
The faculty and staff of the IPH contribute to WCM-Q’s pre-medical and medical programme, enabling future physicians to look outside of mainstream medicine to appreciate the impact of public health approaches, lifestyle factors, the environment and social determinants on the overall health of populations.
Furthermore, IPH provides short-term global health experiential opportunities for WCM-Q students to visit other countries, such as Tanzania and Vietnam and elective opportunities worldwide via the Global Educational Exchange in Medicine and the Health Professions (GEMx), allowing students to gain a first-hand understanding of global health issues and the challenges of providing healthcare in underserved populations.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IPH also moved swiftly to adapt, engage and contribute during the global emergency. The team disseminated credible information related to COVID-19 and helped raise awareness among the public during the early stages of the pandemic. As the crisis continued, IPH published several peer-reviewed research papers on the health and well-being of society during the pandemic.
Research, publications and courses for healthcare professionals
In the realm of research, the IPH has published 61 publications including book chapters and papers in high-profile international medical journals on a wide variety of subjects. The IPH is also home to the Center for Cultural Competence in Health Care (CCCHC), which provides healthcare professionals with courses in medical interpretation, emotional intelligence and cultural competence to ensure patients in a multicultural and multilingual environment such as Qatar receive the very best healthcare possible.
To date, the CCCHC has trained 354 medical interpreters in Qatar, improving access to healthcare for speakers of at least 24 world languages, including Arabic, Malayalam, Filipino, French, Mandarin, Farsi, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil.
The IPH team is highly engaged with the local healthcare community through the Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group – Qatar (LMIG-Q), which Dr Mamtani and Dr Cheema established in 2018. LMIG-Q supports and cultivates a community of dedicated professionals who strive to promote healthy behaviours and lifestyles, reduce the burden of disease, and improve the health of future generations.
Currently, the LMIG-Q has more than 700 members and is growing all the time.
Check out Marhaba’s FREE e-Guides for everything you need to know about Qatar.