Wow! What a Week!

Our SSPH+ Annual Meeting 2025 was hosted by the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) from 4–5 June 2025. More than 130 participants gathered to exchange knowledge, network, and engage in inspiring plenary and parallel sessions covering topics from youth well-being and sustainable health workforce development to the future of public health publishing.

This year, SSPH+ proudly celebrates 20 years of shaping public health together - and the meeting reflected this milestone with new initiatives, student engagement, and vibrant discussion on breaking down barriers in public health.

Plenary session slides, photos, and Jonas’ cartoons are now online!

• Plenary session slides - check the program below.
• Event event photos: Annual Meeting 2025 (please use password: AM2025)
• Jonas’ cartoons: here.
  

Day 1 / 4 June 2025

How to get to BFH

#	Time	Title/Content	Audience/Organisation	Presentations
	11:00-12:30	Pre-conference: IGC Academic Board Meeting	Audience: Upon Invitation Keynote/Moderation: Arnaud Chiolero & Ann Walser (SSPH+, UNIFR), Joachim Marti (UNIL)
	12:30-13:00	REGISTRATION, LIGHT LUNCH & DRINKS
A	13:00-14:00	Opening Session: Welcome & SSPH+ Initiatives
A1	13:00-13:15	Welcome by SSPH+ and BFH	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Luca Crivelli (SSPH+), Klazine Van der Horst (BFH)
A2	13:15-14:00	Introduction and New SSPH+ Initiatives	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Luca Crivelli (SSPH+)	Presentation Introduction
B	14:00-15:00	Parallel Sessions
B1	14:00-15:00	IGC Students MeetingWelcome of new IGC students / update on IGC / congratulations to new IGC alumni / student representatives / IJPH: young researcher editorials / postdoc & alumni activities / what’s cooking?	Audience: IGC PhD Students, new IGC Alumni Keynote/Moderation: Arnaud Chiolero & Ann Walser (SSPH+, UNIFR), Joachim Marti (UNIL)
B2	14:00-15:00	Collaborative Capacity Building for Health Promotion Professionals in Switzerland (Cap4HP)Health promotion (HP) is a core field of action within Public Health. HP professionals contribute promising approaches to current health challenges. To strengthen HP professional practice in Switzerland, the objective of this ongoing inter-university initiative is to achieve a shared understanding of systematic and strategic capacity building for HP professionals. The objective of this session is to share, discuss and develop first findings and preliminary results of the carried-out stakeholder interviews and workshop. The envisioned outcome is a collection of feedbacks and inputs from the participants, which will help inform the final steps of the project, including a position paper.	Audience: All interested Keynote/Moderation: Karin Nordström (ZHAW)
B3	14:00-15:00	SSPH+ Journals - Future DirectionsThe coming year will be a very important time to shape options for the future of the two SSPH+ journals, IJPH and PHR. This interactive plenary session aims to elicit the views and preferences of our community regarding the future publishing model used by the journals.	Audience: All interested Keynote/Moderation: Christopher Woodrow (Swiss TPH), Nino Künzli (SSPH+)
B4	14:00-15:00	Networking for a Sustainable Health Workforce The Competence Network Health Workforce (CNHW) serves as a platform uniting researchers from Switzerland to foster collaboration and create synergies in the field of healthcare workforce research. This session will present the CNHW’s objectives, its structure, and its role in connecting researchers to address challenges related to the working conditions, wellbeing, and labor market of healthcare professionals. Attendees will learn about CNHW’s efforts to strengthen collaboration within academia, highlight its current focus areas and research projects, and explore opportunities for participation in this unique network dedicated to healthcare workforce sustainability.	Audience: All interested Keynote/Moderation: Tiziana Sala (SUPSI, CNHW), Sabine Hahn (BFH, CNHW)
	15:00-15:30	COFFEE BREAK - 30'
C	15:30-16:15	New insights on causes of the decline in youth well-beingAdolescent and young adult mental health in Switzerland has become an area of growing concern, with reports of declining well-being, and increasing psychological distress, anxiety, and depression in recent years. To better understand the underlying factors, this session presents and discusses new insights on causes of the decline in youth well-being. By integrating evidence from various disciplines, the session seeks to uncover how changes in social, economic, and digital environments influence mental health trajectories. The first presentation by Prof. Dr. Julia Dratva (ZHAW School of Health Sciences) will provide a overview on important drivers of the well-being of adolescents. The second presentation by Dr. Annette Fahr (Federal Office of Public Health FOPH) will delve deeper into discussions surrounding the influence of social media on adolescents’ well-being and provide evidence on ‘developmental windows of sensitivity towards social media’ in Switzerland. The session aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and to provide valuable insights dedicated to improving youth mental health in Switzerland.	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Julia Dratva (ZHAW), Annette Fahr (FOPH)	Presentation 1 Presentation 2
D	16:15-17:00	Swiss Academic Leaders in Dialogue	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Luca Crivelli (SSPH+) in dialogue with Arnaud Perrier (SAMS) and Luciana Vaccaro (swissuniversities)
E	17:00-17:30	One brain, one health, one life: The Swiss Brain Health PlanBrain disorders, both neurological and psychiatric, are the first cause of disability and costs in Europe (and Switzerland) and the second case of mortality. According to the WHO, Brain Health is a state in which every individual can realize their own abilities and optimize their cognitive, emotional, psychological and behavioural functioning to cope with life situations”. The “Swiss Brain Health Plan” (SBHP) was launched in 2022 to (1) raise awareness; (2) strengthen cross-disciplinary and interprofessional training programs for healthcare professionals; (3) foster research on brain health determinants as well as prevention, early detection and interventions for brain disorders; (4) promote a holistic integrated, person-centered public health approach to promote brain health across scientific, health care, commercial, societal, insurance and governmental stakeholders; (5) support, empower, and engage patients, caregivers, and patient organizations, and reduce the stigma and discrimination related to brain disorders.	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Claudio Bassetti (UNIBE)	Presentation
E1	17:00-18:00	Career Speed Dating EventThis session takes place in parallel to session E. Open the door to the professional world today. Learn how others have shaped their careers after graduation and what drives them in their professional lives today. In a "speed dating" format, you will discover various career options available to you and you will have the opportunity to exchange and discuss on all things relating to next steps in career development.	Audience: PhD students and Postdocs Keynote/Moderation: Student representatives	Check out the flyer!
	18:00-19:00	Apéro and Celebration of SSPH+ Honorary Fellows 2025	Audience: All
	19:30	Dinner	Audience: Invited persons	Restaurant Röschtigrabe Click here for directions.

 

Day 2 / 5 June 2025

How to get to BFH

#	Time	Title/Content	Audience/Organisation	Presentations
G	08:30-09:00	The relevance of public health for health care professions: building bridges for interprofessional collaborationThis presentation highlights the BFH activities in fostering interprofessional collaboration among health care professionals. Key activities include: Interprofessional teaching and research; Academic Practice Partnership: A collaboration between BFH and Insel Gruppe; Lifestyle Interventions: Initiatives aimed at strengthening patients physical, mental and social health and the Swiss Center for Care@Home. These initiatives demonstrate the importance of integrating public health principles into health care practices to improve overall health outcomes.	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Klazine Van der Horst & Kai-Uwe Schmitt (BFH)	Presentation
H	09:00-10:00	Parallel Sessions
H1	09:00-10:00	Centering Equity and Justice: Practical Strategies for and by Early Career Researchers This workshop, designed for and by early career researchers, aims to empower participants by exploring actionable strategies for embedding equity and justice principles in their research and professional practices. The objective is to build participants' capacity to recognize and mitigate biases, foster inclusive research environments, and align their work with broader societal challenges.	Audience: PhD students and Postdocs Keynote/Moderation: Vanessa Seijas Bermudez (UNILU), Natalie Messerli (UNILU), Nazihah Noor (UNIFR), Alexander Ort (UNILU)
H2	09:00-10:00	Knowledge Transfer in Public Health: Coming to the Future, Coming from the PastThis parallel session builds on the results of the SNSF Agora project ‘Bridging the Gap’ (https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/215863) and will explore how the transfer of experiential knowledge from the past functions in public health and how it might be improved. Insights from the public health community in Switzerland have been integrated in various ways, for example by applying design methods to develop innovative, sustainable health policy strategies. The goal of the session is to present our framework, based on a systemic design approach, and to co-create future szenarios for managing potential pandemics with participants in the form of a workshop.	Audience: All interested Keynote/Moderation: Kaspar Staub (UZH), Felicitas Högger Niedermann (ZHAW)
H3	09:00-10:00	Accessible Science: Science Communication for a Lay AudienceThis swissuniversities funded project aims to provide people in Switzerland with an easy way to find out about current research in the field of personal and public health and education. High-quality open access articles from these four independent Swiss journals are to be made accessible to lay audiences in an attractive short form: ▶Swiss Medical Weekly ▶International Journal of Public Health ▶Public Health Reviews ▶Media Pedagogy. This workshop will give a comprehensive insight into the project and welcomes feedback on strategic steps to enhance communication to lay public audiences in Switzerland.	Audience: All interested Keynote/Moderation: Colette Schneider Stingelin (ZHAW), Christopher Woodrow (Swiss TPH), Maša Davidović (SSPH+)
H4	09:00-10:00	Healthy up High in Switzerland: promoting sustainable Ageing in Place in high-rise settings The follow-up project “Healthy up High in Switzerland” has expanded the locally anchored recommendations for action for indoor and outdoor spaces, nutrition, exercise and the social environment (neighborhood) in a broader context for the topic “Ageing in Place” in settlements in need of revitalization at the national level. The recommendations for action have been validated and expanded, thus providing extensive knowledge and recommendations for building cooperatives, administrations and architects in the construction industry. This includes promoting the health of all residents, especially the elderly, as well as considering ecological aspects such as heat protection and biodiversity in green spacesIntroduction: The first project "Healthy up High" and its follow-up project "Healthy up High in der Schweiz" will be briefly introduced (aims, focus, target group for the end-product/results - brief overview of the main areas of the recommendations). Workshop activity: Iimagining the daily challenges of an older person (in third-fourth phase of ageing) and mind-mapping what they would need to age in place when living in an older high-rise building and its surrounding communal area. Additionally, considering how such a setting could be adapted most sustainably (economically, socially, environmentally). Recommendations: The recommendations for owners/managers of such high-rises will be presented, including the synergies between the areas. Further group discussion (depending on time). Looking forward until 2050 - how to advance this setting to promote Ageing in Place.	Audience: All interested Keynote/Moderation: Tannys Helfer and Korózs Áron (BFH)
	10:00-10:30	COFFEE BREAK - 30'
I	10:30-11:15	Planetary Health In this session, the SSPH+ community will gain an understanding of what planetary health is and its relevance to public health sciences research, practice, and policy – locally and globally. It starts with a short talk about what it is and why it matters. We will show the findings of the planetary health app highlighting how planet-friendly our meeting is and where we could improve. The next generation of the public health workforce (i.e., PhD students) will share insights from interactive activities they did on day 1. The session concludes with an open discussion on advancing planetary health within the SSPH+.	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Suzanne Suggs (USI), Jan Fehr (UZH), Simon Rüegg (UZH)	Presentation
J	11:15-12:00	Mental Health in StudentsBuilding on the SSPH+ inter-university project "Developing a SSPH+ Initiative for Students’ Mental Health" we aim to reflect on the potential use of the output: 1) mapping of services at SSPH+ universities, 2) survey on mental health (questionnaire), and develop next steps to take (further initiatives). This application is also in the name of Georg Bauer/UZH, who co-leads the project on mental health together with Julia Dratva and Emiliano Albanese. Further involved are Marcel Salathé and other representatives of the SSPH+ unis/UAS, and students.	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Julia Dratva (ZHAW), Emiliano Albanese (USI), Georg Bauer (UZH)	Presentation
K	12:00-12:30	Wrap Up and SSPH+ Award for best published PhD article in Public Health 2025	Audience: All Keynote/Moderation: Luca Crivelli (SSPH+)	Wrap up
	12:30–	LIGHT LUNCH (... GRAB A SANDWICH)