Project title: Enhancement of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetic Practice in Palestine (ECNAD)
Project number:  609696-EPP-1-2019-1-PS-EPPKA2-CBHE-JK
Programme: Erasmus+ - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices – Capacity building in the field of Higher education
Coordinator:  Al Azhar University Gaza (Palestine)
Duration: 15.01.2020-14.01.2023
Website: https://ecnad.ptcdb.edu.pl/

 

Description:

The complexity of nutrition as a discipline and practice tends to be overlooked; doctors, nurses and community health workers need specific preparation or guidance to deliver the nutrition services that health facilities are expected to deliver. When nutrition professionals are unavailable for field programs, international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) may hire other workers, whose nutrition competencies may be highly variable. Studies on nutrition workforce capacity conducted in Palestine confirm the severe shortage of skilled clinical nutrition professionals. In addition, because of a shortage of nutritionists, the bulk of the nutrition interventions were done by health workers who lacked the skills to provide quality nutrition services.This project aims to enhance the clinical nutrition practice in Palestine and its role in the medical care process and has successfully achieved the following outputs: 1. Assessment of academic and professional needs 2. Training of academic staff and professionals and mobilization to European partner institutes 3. Preparation of Clinical Nutrition manual 4. Development of Arabic food analyzer software 5. Developing of Clinical Nutrition curricula 6. Development of food and nutrition laboratories 7. Exposing best local students to EU reaching environment.

 

Aims of the project:

At the longer run, the project has accomplished the following results:

• Reduced gap between academia and practical clinical nutrition sector
• Turning the focus of the stakeholders onto clinical nutrition as a component of health care proces
• Knowledge and skill transfer to local nutrition workforce
• Raised community awareness towards nutrition knowledge and practice
• Networking with international academic and professional bodies.

 

Project stakeholders:

• Academic staff in the field of nutrition
• Dieticians and other related medical sector employees
• Students, future specialists in nutrition

 

Role of the Academy of Business and Health Sciences:

Palestine has a difficult background; building staff in a country of limited resources and political complications requires sending academic staff and other related medical sector employees abroad for shorter and longer training visits to acquire the knowledge and skills needed locally. The Academy of Business and Health Sciences, which already has many years of experience in the field of educating future nutritionists, will act as an advisor who will share his good practices and together with other project partners will develop the expected results, such as: curricula or preparation of clinical nutrition manual.

 

Project partners:

Al-Azhar University – Gaza (Palestine)

Palestine Technical College (Palestine)

Hebron University (Palestine)

El-Wafa Medical Rehab and specialized surgery hospital (Palestine)

University of Ruse (Bulgaria)

Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu i Nauk o Zdrowiu (Poland)

University Rehabilitation Institute (Slovenia)

 

How to contact us:

Institutional coordinator of European projects: m.sujka@medyk.edu.pl