OREANDA-NEWS. Within the scope of implementation of the Karelia-Finnish project Health in Focus: Development of disease prevention and health promotion in two Karelias 2013-2014 the town of Ilomantsi, North Karelia, Finland, was a venue for the workshop on issues of prevention of noncontagious diseases.

Experts of the World Health Organization, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland, the National Institute of Health and Social Well-Being of Finland, the Central scientific research institute of organization and informatization of public health services of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Ministry of Health and Social Development of Karelia, medical organizations of the republic took part in the workshop.

The workshop participants discussed issues of health status of the population astride the border, prospects of prevention of noncontagious diseases in Finland, Russia, and Karelia. The experience gained will be useful to experts organizing disease prevention aimed at increase of health knowledge among people about risk factors and ways of behaviour influencing health, and familiarization of population groups at risk with medical services.

The project is aimed to promote strengthening of cooperation between North Karelia and the Republic of Karelia in the sphere of improvement of the state of health and social well-being of the population and is implemented within the cross-border cooperation program European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) Karelia. Among the expected results of the project implementation there are improvement of health communication and an increase of health knowledge among people, models for process to reach challenging population groups, strengthening of self-treatment, development of skills and working methods of health professionals, health care quality and needs for service and satisfaction to services in the sparsely populated areas, and strengthening of the Health in All policies thinking.