Looking back: New Frontiers Symposium 2020 Prevention

New Frontiers symposium is CANCELLED

Although the acute phase of the corona crisis needs all our attention, we hope that the current measures as well as new scientific insights will enable us to resume part of normal life after the summer holidays. Although it is uncertain in what format the conference can be organized, we continue with the preparation of the yearly Radboud New Frontiers. So save the date already!
 
In contrast with the incidental rise in communicable diseases such as COVID-2019, the prevalence of chronic, non-communicable diseases is continuously rising, and in the near future we will be unable to handle this increase. Most of these diseases are lifestyle-related. However, individuals at risk and health care professionals find it very difficult to change lifestyle. In addition, to be successful interventions need to be tailored. The best is to detect health derangements early, to intervene as early as possible, thus preventing chronicity. There are many influences on health and health behavior, requiring an optimal interaction between the individual, the healthcare system as well as the physical and social environment. In addition, there are big expectations of the role of technology, like eHealth and mHealth, in relation to prevention.
 
Urgent research questions arise. Should we focus on prevention of diseases, or better aim at increasing functioning and participation, despite disease? Does our current evidenced-based medicine approach, with emphasis on trials, align with the complexity of behavioral change and environmental influences?
 
In this Radboud New Frontiers symposium, organized by the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences (RIHS), we will address the topic of prevention research in relation to health and healthcare from various interesting, and necessary, perspectives. We will put you as clinician or researcher in the ‘action’ mode, challenged by top scientists, by asking you to think about the role prevention can have in your own research or clinical work and to discuss this with other participants.
 
Scientists from Europe and the United States will illustrate prevention across the lifespan, highlighting the importance of tailoring of the content and aim of prevention to the age of the individual. We will also explore the interaction between behavior and environment, and the potential role of technology in changing lifestyle. In workshops you can discuss with others what your work can contribute to health and prevention. We will wrap up with illustrations of methodological approaches that best suit the complexity of prevention and behavioral change.
 
This conference will give researchers and clinicians with different backgrounds and levels of seniority a broad insight into the potential of prevention for the forthcoming decades.