CHILDREN_FIRST
The Cypriot Children’s Health and Environment Observatory is an initiative supported by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the Paediatric Society of Cyprus. It is coordinated by the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health of the Cyprus University of Technology in collaboration with the Center of Excellence for Biobanking and Biomedical Research of the University of Cyprus.
The Observatory was created to:
- Systematically assess the health profiles and environmental factors that may influence them in primary school children in Cyprus over the course of six years.
- Learn more about the time-dynamic process of development of non-communicable diseases such as cardiometabolic, neurodevelopmental and respiratory diseases/disorders.
- Identify molecular markers in urine/saliva that act as early signals before the development of diseases, so that timely interventions can be designed to reduce health risks.
- Incorporate evidence-based interventions and prevention policies for children’s health at various levels: individual, family, school, local, and national.
The Observatory is part of an international network of research organizations dealing with the systematic observation of health and environmental indicators of children in 5 Mediterranean countries (CHILDREN_FIRST). The overall theme of the CHILDREN_FIRST network is based upon the personalized prevention approach and the exposome concept applications in children’s health.