[afro-nets] Training Workshop on Tobacco Use and Dependence Treatment

["Joyce Jakavula" <Joyce.Jakavula@up.ac.za>]

Global Bridges Pre-conference workshop

Training Workshop on Tobacco Use and Dependence Treatment

Date: April 22-23, 2012
Time: 9.00am to 4.30 pm
Venue: Millennium Hall, Addis Ababa
 
Global Bridges AFRO region will be hosting a workshop on Tobacco Use and Dependence Treatment prior to the 13th World Congress on Public Health. Health care providers (HCPs) in the region who have registered for the main conference and/or able to fund themselves for travel and accommodation are invited to register for this two-day workshop by sending an email to Joyce Jakavula via email at joyce.jakavula@up.ac.za by April 9, 2012. Eligible participants include HCPs who are in contact with tobacco users and are providing tobacco use and dependence treatment, e.g. oncologists, physicians, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, counselors, etc. Also eligible are those directly involved with policy development related to treatment and tobacco control policy. 

The workshop is free but only limited spaces are available and registration will be done on a first come first served basis. The workshop will be conducted in English only. We encourage applicants to plan to attend the congress at their own expense, if at all possible. Please visit http://www.etpha.org/2012 for more information on the world congress.
  
About Global Bridges
This is a global initiative hosted by the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center in the US, with operational sites currently in three of the WHO regions. The mission of Global Bridges is to create and mobilize a global network of healthcare providers and organizations dedicated to advancing effective tobacco dependence treatment and advocating for effective tobacco control policy. The goal of the AFRO region is to reduce prevalence of tobacco use in sub-Saharan Africa by increasing treatment capacity of healthcare workers from diverse disciplines and settings. For more information on how to join the network, please visit www.globalbridges.org. 
 
Overview of the workshop
Tobacco control is relatively new in Africa, as in many African countries the tobacco burden is still low.  However, the estimated prevalence of tobacco smoking in population subgroups in a number of countries is above 20% and is growing. Further to this, about 25% of the TB mortality in some parts of the region has been attributed to tobacco smoking. Tobacco use is also the only risk factor common to the four major non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Hence tobacco control also has a prominent role in the fight against NCDs in the AFRO region.  It is therefore important to arrest the growth of tobacco dependence before it spreads further. Global Bridges fills this important need for a well-coordinated, global, science-based initiative that mobilizes the global community of health care providers to make a population impact on tobacco use through treatment and advocacy.
 
During this workshop, participants will be taught the essentials of tobacco use and dependence treatment by international and regional experts and reach the following learning objectives:
*          Know the regional and global (WHO FCTC) policy initiatives for tobacco control.
*          Understand the basics of nicotine dependence and knows the evidence-base for effectiveness of provider-initiated behavioural and pharmacological interventions.
*          Recognizes the challenges of implementation of treatment interventions and innovative ways to navigate through these challenges.
*          Participants will be introduced to the application of the elements of effective counseling using motivational interviewing technique.

Sincerely,

Joyce L Jakavula
Global Bridges Project Coordinator: AFRO Region
Oral & Dental Hospital
Department of Community Dentistry
Faculty of Health Sciences
P.O. Box 1266, Pretoria 0001,South Africa
Tel: +27 12 319 2918
Fax: +27 86 511 6622
www.globalbridges.org
mailto:Joyce.Jakavula@up.ac.za