How Can Science Support Public Health?
On June 10, 2025, the national conference “Collecting High-Quality Data for Public Health: Cooperation Between Science and Local Government in Shaping Health Policy” was held in Białystok.
The event was organized by the Medical University of Białystok, in collaboration with the Senate of the Republic of Poland.
The conference was initiated by:
- Prof. Irina Kowalska – Vice-Rector for Science and Evaluation
- Prof. Karol Kamiński – Vice-Rector for Preventive Medicine and Open Science
The conference was officially opened by, among others, Dr. Jacek Brzozowski, Podlaskie Voivode, and Dr. Tadeusz Truskolaski, Mayor of Białystok.
The Senate of the Republic of Poland, concerned with the state of public health and the health of the Polish population, has declared 2025 the Year of Health Education and Prevention. This event is part of the national observance.
A key focus of the conference was the collaboration between local governments and medical universities. One outstanding example of such cooperation is our Białystok PLUS program – one of the largest population-based health projects in Poland.
Thanks to an agreement with the City of Białystok, we have access to the PESEL database of local residents, which allows us to invite citizens to participate in the study. In return, the City uses the findings of our analyses to develop local health and social strategies.
In 2024, for example, the Health Diagnosis of Białystok Residents was published – a report based on Białystok PLUS data, funded by the City of Białystok.
The goal of our research is to understand how lifestyle, environment, and genetics affect health – and how to prevent chronic diseases before they occur!
