Science Space
FCT Research Unit of the Institute of Preventive Medicine
The Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), as a Research Unit (RU), is a multidisciplinary unit hosted by the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon and which has been part of the National Scientific and Technological System[1] for the past 5 years, through a multi-year contract with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
In fulfilling its mission and as part of its “Health Determinants Research Centre (CIDS)”, it promotes, conducts and supports scientific research and technological development projects (SR&TD) with the aim of producing and advancing scientific knowledge on unknown or less known factors that affect health (health determinants) , particularly of the Portuguese population, focusing on the causes of major diseases associated with increasingly important environmental factors, life styles, social aspects and performance of the actual health services, among others.
The activity of the “IPM -CIDS” RU is carried out within the functional units, which include Epidemiology, which is core in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and the specific areas of Environmental and Occupational Health, Cardiovascular Prevention, Migrant Health, General and Family Medicine, Nutrition, Reproductive Health and Fertility, and Health and Health Systems Impact Assessment.
The activities proposed for 2011-2012 (under the new FCT terms for a Strategic Project to fund the RU, approved recently) were planned so as to meet the specific objectives of IPM-CIDS, grouped according to strategic aims, planned results, and core relevance, and aim not only to carry out the essential mission to conduct research, but also to associate research with teaching (at undergraduate and postgraduate levels), foster interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation (in Portugal and internationally), produce and disseminate research results, and ensure the best possible conditions to attain it in terms of human, financial and logistic resources.
In the period 2011-2012, the IPM-CIDS will conduct R&D projects in order to:
- Investigate exposure to distinct and related risk factors, such as migration, poverty and social exclusion;
- Use information and recording systems to foster research and quality in health care;
- Investigate the distinct aspects of health management, the different communication levels that are increasingly becoming more important, the particularly effective empowerment of the population, and the rationale for policy making in the field of health and in other sectors, particularly the environment;
- Investigate the effect of psycho-social determinants on the health of workers;
- Investigate factors that may adversely affect reproductive health and perinatal, child, adolescent and young adults health, with a view to sustainability;
- Investigate and implement methodologies to assess the impact on health and on health systems of measures carried out in other sectors;
- Develop (or create the conditions to enable use) analytical methodologies that are essential to assess environmental quality and to determine risk biomarkers or diseases associated with exposure to tobacco smoke and also human exposure and impact on the health of workers who may be exposed to manufactured nanoparticles in the production and commercial use of nanomaterials.
- Develop methodologies transversal to the main research areas of the IPM-CIDS, such as statistic methods and techniques to extract and summarize important information.
These activities will enable the following: (a) to keep up cutting edge research in the areas where the functional units of IPM-CIDS have already obtained recognition; (b) to continue the advance of research in those areas, while ensuring the timeliness of the objectives; (c) to explore the potential synergies between the distinct research strands in the Unit and with the Units of external collaborators; and d) to continue the cooperation with other scientific areas, thus fostering interdisciplinary research and creating the conditions to identify the potential for new research goals and offer solutions that are innovative with regard to the original area.
In terms of capacity for research, the IPM-CIDS will carry out activities to improve the coordination and management of projects, strengthen teams and existing strands, develop internal cooperation and tighten the connection between research and training through invitations to students to become involved in current or new SR&TD projects and by offering traineeships and scholarships to young researchers.
From the perspective of self-sustainability in financial and organizational terms, IPM-CIDS researchers are encouraged to pool resources and tools to support research and researchers. The IPM-CIDS coordinators, together with the project leaders, are responsible for ensuring the necessary organizational resources to support the research, namely identify the specific requirements in terms of logistical support and set up (currently underway) a management office to meet those requirements. In the same vein, a web-based management system appropriate to the functional needs of IPM-CIDS is being implemented to encourage the collection and management (viewing and updating, with restricted access) of data related to the CVs of IPM-CIDS members, in particular for the production of research indicators. The IPM-CIDS coordinating activities will also include the promotion of improved internal communication, closer relationship among members and stronger and more effective collaboration, namely through initiatives such as internal debates and thematic seminars (equally open to the public), and the creation of a website and the necessary conditions to maintain it, among others.
To carry out its activities, the IPM-CIDS uses/will use the facilities, infrastructure and equipment available at the host institution, like the computer network of the FML, the fully computerized bibliographic collection of the IPM Documentation Centre, and the support of the Association for Research and Development of the Faculty of Medicine (AIDFM) with regard to communication with the FCT.
On 31 December last, IPM-CIDS had 13 Integrated Members with PhDs and 37 Collaborating Members, of whom 6 have PhDs, 16 are involved in PhD projects, 3 in Master projects, and 6 are scholars working on new or in progress R&D projects. This is quite good progress compared to April 2008, when the RU was evaluated by FCT and awarded the classification of Good, at a time when the IPM-CIDS only had 8 Integrated Members with PhDs and 25 Collaborating Members, of whom only 1 had a PhD and 6 were doctoral students.
Nevertheless, human resources are still one of the weaknesses of the unit, given that the average time commitment of Integrated Members does not exceed 39%, and most have a very heavy teaching load. Some do not have an employment contract and/or have their salaries guaranteed only as part of the projects they are involved in. However, the strong desire not to let the flame die, and the hope in the strength of the younger members sustain the dream to make the IPM-CIDS a Unit of excellence in the area of prevention, cultivating and disseminating science, along the path of those who came before us and to the benefit of individuals and communities.
M. Fátima Reis, Coordinator
mfreis@fm.ul.pt
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[1] Named SAU-LVT-4104
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