The GESAPH 2024-2025 master’s programme holds its graduation and awards ceremony
A day dedicated to the presentation of innovative projects in comprehensive care, marking the conclusion of the GESAPH master’s programme.
This week, the master’s programme in Integrated Management of Primary, Social, Hospital and Community Care (GESAPH) organised the presentation of final projects and awarded diplomas and prizes for the 2024-2025 academic year, at a particularly significant time for the Catalan system following the approval of the new Law on the Catalan Agency for Integrated Social and Health Care (AGAISS-Cat).
A ceremony opened with a forward-looking perspective
The welcome address was given by Ms Victòria Alsina, head of Strategy and Planning at the University of Barcelona Institute for Lifelong Learning (IL3-UB), who emphasised the importance of this moment: “It is an honour to welcome the latest graduates from the GESAPH master’s programme at a key juncture for the integration of social and health systems”. Alsina highlighted the importance of the projects submitted by the students because, she said, “their purpose is to become the seed for initiatives that will ultimately have a positive impact on people and communities”.
Subsequently, Mr Davide Malmusi, director of Barcelona City Council’s Health and Care Services, drew attention to the current historic moment with the recent approval in the Catalan Parliament of the AGAISS-Cat Law, which draws on a “pioneering comprehensive approach” that Catalonia has fostered in recent years. Malmusi emphasised that Barcelona City Council has shown its commitment to working for comprehensive care, particularly in the face of growing challenges such as dependency, ageing or mental health.
Presentation of the final master’s programme projects
Dr Josep Maria Grego, director of the GESAPH master’s programme, introduced the part of the event in which students presented seven innovative projects aimed at improving comprehensive care and people’s quality of life, focusing particularly on care for the elderly and mental health.
- “Vostè també” (You too): a proposal to take social and health services to people over 70 who had not accessed them in recent years.
- “Connecta’t” (Connect): a project to foster social interaction among institutionalised elderly people using non-pharmacological interventions.
- “Connectant generacions, oci i emocions” (Connecting generations, leisure and emotions): an initiative to address emotional distress in frail older people.
- “DignifiCAT i decideix sobre la teva salut” (Claim dignity and decide about your health): an information and support initiative focused on advance healthcare directives for people with a mental health diagnosis.
- “El respecte a la intimitat no té edat” (Respect for privacy knows no age): a proposal to protect and foster older women’s sexual rights.
- “Creando puentes” (Building bridges): a project to reduce the risk of distress in the transition between hospital discharge and the return home.
- “Connecta en gran” (Connect with your peers): an intervention to combat unwanted loneliness and lack of social connections among elderly people.
After the presentations, Dr Grego congratulated the master’s students on the high standard of their work and opened the round-table discussion.
Round-table discussion: a multifaceted perspective of AISS (comprehensive social and health care) at a historic juncture
The round table, entitled “AISS in perspective: viewed by patients, institutions and the international arena” was moderated by Ms Roser Fernández, CEO of the Unió Catalana d’Hospitales, accompanied by Ms Conxita Barbeta, head of Comprehensive Care at the Catalan Ministry of Social Rights and Inclusion, and Mr Jordi Amblàs, head of Comprehensive Care and Chronic Conditions at the Catalan Ministry of Health.
All three agreed that the approval of the AGAISS-Cat marks a historic moment. Ms Fernandez emphasised that the projects presented by the master’s students “are proof that this Law responds to a real need”.
Ms Barbeta highlighted the four decades of work by professionals who have driven integrated care “at a time when institutions did not always support them”. She also enumerated five key areas for the Agency’s development, among which she considered information systems and evaluation to be particularly important, while warning of the complexity of territorial distribution for social policies, a factor that takes on particular importance in a system where a large proportion of care provision falls to local authorities.
Mr Amblàs echoed these sentiments and noted that the Agency will enable the professionals who were already working with integrated processes “to do so under proper conditions”, avoiding situations in which they had to take on responsibilities that were not theirs. He also pointed out that there is still a lot of work to be done within the healthcare system to fully consolidate the systemic perspective. Both agreed that integration must respect the unique features of each area.
Presentation of diplomas and awards for the best projects and academic records
Dr Montserrat Puig, the University of Barcelona Vice-Rector for Equality, Inclusion and Gender, presided over the award-giving ceremony.
Dr Grego said that, although this master’s programme does not foster competition between participants (in fact, quite the contrary), due recognition must be given to the student’s hard work and he announced the annual awards: the prize for the best academic record went to Marta González Salvador, the prize for the best communication of a final master’s project went to the project “Connecta en gran”, and the prize for the best final master’s project was shared by the projects “Connecta en gran” and “Creando puentes”.
A closing ceremony focused on the future of comprehensive care
The closing ceremony was led by MsAina Plaza, Director General for Health Planning, who acknowledged the effort made by the master’s programme to put “people at the centre” and to make proposals that may contribute to humanising care. Ms. Plaza framed the current juncture, with the imminent creation of the Agency, as a transformative opportunity for society. She closed by highlighting the need for trained professionals with profiles such as those of the graduating students: “You are on the front line of care, and a valuable asset in this new paradigm,” she said.