Health days in Basque

1996/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

19 and 20 April VI. The Health Days were held in Pamplona. The sessions were held entirely in Basque and were attended by health professionals from different regions. The sessions were organized under the title “Chronic diseases and quality of life” and we had the opportunity to reflect on this interesting topic. There were different forms of participation: presentations, conferences or round tables. They received 50 papers for their presentation and were offered to the attendees as oral communication and as video exhibition and panels.

Although it is the sixth day, it must be recognized that it was the first in Navarra and that, fortunately, it was even greater than what was thought in response. At first, the intention and illusion of a group of friends aroused the interest of many people and we are proud to emphasize that it has had a great impact.

The first steps were not so easy. There was much debate about the organization of the conference in Pamplona. As we have said before, it is the first time that this type of event is held in Navarra and we were afraid of the result of the effort. We also wondered if on the part of the Administration we had received some kind of help, since it was considered that speaking only in Basque was a great handicap. Fortunately, we managed to maintain the organization and once the project was approved and decided to go ahead, we started to give the door.

We had more than one fright because we were welcomed into doors that were considered closed. In addition to the grants, we obtained absolute support and, with regard to the use of Basque, we received unbeatable opinions. We believe that we have managed to reconcile health with Basque: as in other disciplines, we were told that Basque has its place in health and that it is an area to work, in tune with what we thought and wanted to demonstrate.

Aware of this need, it is worth noting the work being done among Primary Care professionals. Although the lack of fluency or custom in the preparation of communications in Basque in this group is a great obstacle, the non-mastery of technical Basque has been a stimulus for many professionals who have sought solutions to the needs. On the other hand, the fact that the steps taken in favor of Basque have sufficient impact is a priority objective for this group. For example, the Department of Health of Navarra has published this year for the first time in Basque and Spanish the Public Health Bulletin, which has been recognized by this group of professionals.

In any case, there are still areas to be analyzed and worked on and there are many. Among them, it is worth mentioning the field of Specialties, in which subsequent efforts have to focus on that there have not been too many relationships with those who work in hospitals and in the nearest areas.

The contribution of the Days of Pamplona can be summarized in two, on the one hand, in offering to the people who work in the field of health in Basque the possibility of knowing each other and, on the other, in demonstrating that it is an effective means to share experiences.