ITM alumni webinar series featuring the winners Prize for Global Research 2024 of the Province of Antwerp
ITM Alumni webinar #3: “Spatial scales matter: A methodological exploration of spatial scales in public health research applied to urban tuberculosis” – 24 October, 2-3 pm (CEST)
This new series of ITM alumni webinars features the four ITM winners of the Prize for Global Research 2024. The Prize for Global Research is awarded yearly by the Province of Antwerp to research projects of ‘master-after-master’-students of ITM and other Higher Education Institutes. Development relevance, quality and originality of the master theses are key in the selection. Through this award, the Province of Antwerp wants to stimulate global research.
In webinar #3, MPH-alumnus and laureate Victor Vega Zambrano (Peru) will share insights from his master thesis, entitled “Spatial scales matter: A methodological exploration of spatial scales in public health research applied to urban tuberculosis”.
In his Master’s thesis, Victor Vega Zambrano aimed to develop an approach for appropriate identification and selection of spatial scales for disease control and research using urban TB as example. In the biomedical and public health literature, Victor found a lack of frameworks aligned with his aim. However, in the field of geography, he found useful elements to develop a framework applicable to public health which includes process, observational, geographical and policy scales. The scoping review revealed the frequent use of neighbourhoods as observation scale for TB in cities and the lack of justification of the selected scale. He concluded that the inappropriate choice of spatial scales can hide health inequities and lead to missed opportunities for improved policy decisions.
In this webinar, Victor will present the main findings and outcomes of his Master of Science in Public Health (MPH) thesis and discuss his recommendations and conclusion. The Q&A-session is moderated by his thesis supervisor Tine Verdonck. The purpose of the Q&A session is to address questions from the audience and to exchange experiences from other contexts.
Speaker
- Victor Vega Zambrano,MPH-alumnus 2024, Peru
Moderator
- Tine Verdonck, senior researcher, EcoHealth Group, Department of Public Health, ITM, Antwerp
