BSiH Lab at the 12th Annual Public Health Day in Nicosia

07th October 2026

On 6th October 2026, the Behavioral Science in Health (BSiH) Lab took part in the 12th Annual Public Health Day, held at the Siakoleio Amphitheatre of the University of Cyprus in Nicosia under the auspices of the Minister of Health, Mr Neophytos Charalambides.

The event was organised by the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health (CII) and the School of Health Sciences of the Cyprus University of Technology, in collaboration with the Biobank Centre of Excellence and the Department of Chemistry of the University of Cyprus. Now in its twelfth year, the Public Health Day is an established forum for dialogue between researchers, health professionals, policymakers and civil society in Cyprus. This year’s edition was especially meaningful, as it was the first since the CII was formally established by the House of Representatives as the Public Health Research Unit of the School of Health Sciences at CUT.

Under the theme “Investing in Prevention and Health Promotion for a Healthier Cypriot Population”, the programme included a keynote by Dr Agis Tsouros (Bodossaki Foundation) on rethinking prevention for chronic diseases, a policy and science panel with policymakers and experts, and technical sessions on topics ranging from the national strategy on healthy eating and physical activity and the new electronic health record to population genomics, cancer trends, climate-related health risks and GIS in primary care planning.

Dr Angelos Kassianos presented “From evidence to practice: a systematic review and the development of a digital intervention to support healthy behaviours in the postpartum period”. The talk outlined the science behind health behaviour change after childbirth, with a focus on social contagion and how attitudes and behaviours spread through social networks. It then introduced the ALTHEA project, presenting the update of our systematic review on behaviour change interventions for smoking, caffeine and physical activity after birth, the findings from the co-design focus groups with pregnant women, mothers, fathers and healthcare professionals, and the resulting ALTHEA app.

Our collaborator Dr Nicos Middleton also took part in the policy panel, representing the Cyprus Society of Epidemiology and Public Health, and closed the day with a presentation of the Society’s activities. The lab was also represented by Dr Maria Kyprianidou and Dr Athina Manoli. 

We would like to thank the organisers for a rich and well-attended day, and all colleagues for the stimulating discussions on how research can support prevention and health promotion in Cyprus if we break the barriers of systemic fragmentation.