PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF PROJECT CARRIED OUT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF EMU – UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD COLLABORATION GETS PUBLISHED

The preliminary results of Cyprus Women's Health Research Initiative project carried out within the collaborations of Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) and the University of Oxford were published in Quality of Life Research Journal on 14 February, 2022.

Within the scope of the present project, EMU project research team gathered detailed data from women aged between 18 and 55 throughout the island. The collected date included information on women's health history, life quality in health, accessibility of health services, the burden of women's health status on economy and lifestyles. The analysis of the collected epidemiological data has started, and as a first step, it has been shown that 7 thousand 646 women who make up the study sample represent all women in this age range, by comparing their demographic summaries with the 2019 population projections. With the use of whole sample, the results of “Life Quality in Health Scale (SF-36)" of women within the 18-55 age range who live in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) were published. The results were calculated for the first time in terms of physical function, social function, mental health, vitality (vitality-fatigue), pain and general health perspectives of the afore-mentioned group of women. In this context, the study is a first and will constitute a reference point for future disease-based studies.

Emphasizing the importance of such internationally collaborative studies, EMU Arts and Sciences Faculty, Biological Sciences Department Head and project researcher Prof. Dr. Bahar Taneri stated that the students have the opportunity to gain experience in international projects. Prof. Dr. Taneri also stated that many results will emerge from this research project in the long term, and therefore it will be of great importance in the development of data-based public health strategies.

Senior project researcher Nilüfer Rahmioğlu from University of Oxford addressed the matter by saying; “In addition to being a first for the Northern Cyprus community, the study also included a sample of this size for the first time for the Eastern Mediterranean region. In the study, mental and physical quality of life measures were compared in various demographic groups. One of the results, in line with European population data, showed that physical health is better for younger women and mental health improves with age. In the next stage of the research, various disease groups will be defined in the sample, and the women's health map of the society will be created and the role of environmental factors and genetic factors in these diseases will be examined. The genetic study will be performed on saliva samples collected from 10% of the study group".

Dr. Rahmioğlu stated that the civil society leg of the project is represented by the Cyprus Women's Health Research Initiative and, emphasized that as the academic results are published by EMU and University of Oxford, the results will be shared with the society and necessary authorities, and data-based awareness and advocacy studies will be carried out. Dr. Rahmioğlu underlined the importance of informing the society regarding the results of the research and said that detailed information about the project can be reached at www.kisaainsiyatifi.com. In addition, it was stated that the first results published in the Life Research Journal can be accessed at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11136-022-03100-7.