​Master of Public Health student, Alicia Abi Nader, represented the UOB Public Health Department in the “Workshop for Building Countries’ Capacities on Estimating the Health Impacts of Air Pollution Using Time-Series Analysis,” which took place from February 25 to February 28 in Amman, Jordan. The workshop, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region Office (EMRO), aimed to equip health and environmental professionals with optimal methodologies for conducting time series regression analyses, thereby facilitating the precise estimate of risk ratios for certain pollutant-outcome pairs in our region. 

The meeting was attended by around 30 air quality and health professionals from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, including Dr. Joyce Haddad, Director of Preventive healthcare at the MoPH. The training was led by Dr. Aurelio Tobias from the Spanish Research Council, Dr. Massimo Stafoggia from Department of Epidemiology of the Lazio Region Health Services, and Dr. Sophie Gumy, Technical Officer in the WHO Head Quarters.

Alicia’s participation in this workshop is instrumental for the research project that she is conducting as part of her MPH degree –a time-series analysis on air pollution in Lebanon and hospital-admissions in Beirut. This research project is under the supervision of Dr. Myriam Mrad, Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Public Health, and within the framework of an ongoing regional initiative in partnership with the MoPH and the WHO Regional Centre for Environmental Health Action (CEHA). 

When asked about her experience, Alicia stated, “This workshop did not only equip me with the optimal methodologies [to conduct my research] but also underscored the significance of inter-country research for enhancing global health outcomes.”​