Editorial Board Members
Erika Baum has worked for 36 years in a family practice at the countryside and was head of the department of General Practice/Family medicine at University of Marburg from 1988 til 2016. Besides that, she has worked in many fields of my profession: under- and postgraduate as well as continuous medical education, research, guideline development, functions in our German scientific society DEGAM with presidency from 2016-2019 and lots of commissions. On the basis of a good relationship with my patients I always struggled for a good health system with central role of family medicine and highly qualified medical staff as well as a good scientific basis of our recommendations (evidence based medicine). Besides this I am mother of two sons and have now 2 grandchildren for whom I love to take care.
Sofia Cuba is a Family and Community Physician, with strong experience and contact with primary care service and senior positions within the Peruvian Ministry of Health and Essalud (Peruvian social insurance). She has also held multiple public health director positions that provided me with in-depth knowledge of the Peruvian public health system, its functioning and barriers, and how this could be affecting patients with multiple chronic conditions and others.
Sofia is Coordinator of the residency program in Family Medicine, Cayetano Heredia University, has done faculty development work in Canada and the US. She has served as Scientific Director of the Peruvian Society of Family Medicine and Health Management, Peru; Scientific Editor, Revista de Atención integral y Medicina Familiar from IDEFI www.idefiperu.org; President of the Peruvian Society of Family Medicine, Public Health member at large of the Peruvian Medical College, Peru; Senior advisor of Vice Ministry of health, Lima, Peru; and was Founder of the Peruvian Society of Family and Community Medicine (SOPEMFYC) and Featured Doctor of World Organization of Family Doctors.
She was also the International Scholar Award Recipient of the Society of Teacher of Family Medicine, USA.
Bruce Dahlman MD FAAFP MSHPE, over his 28-year medical service and education career in East Africa, has assisted the launch of family medicine as a speciality in Kenya and
consulted in other Eastern Africa countries as the Director of the Nairobi-based Institute of Family Medicine. He holds the Master of Science in Health Professions Education from Maastricht University (The Netherlands) and was the Founding Head, Department of Family Medicine and Community Care, Kabarak University, Kenya. To support critical thinking and evidence-based decision making at the point of patient care, the Digital African Health Library app has been launched that gives single search across over 50 integrated resources, including local MoH guidelines. The Eastern Africa Health Professions Educators’ Association was launched in 2014 to promote best practices for health professions education in the region.
Felicity Goodyear-Smith is a professor of general practice & primary health care at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has been involved in a number of projects on aspects of primary care research around the world, with an emphasis on research capacity-building. She has co-edited three WONCA-sponsored books on this topic: International Perspectives of Primary Care Research, How to Do Primary Care Research, and How to Do Primary Care Educational Research: a Practical Guide. She was previously Chair of the International Committee of NAPCRG, and is currently the Chair of the WONCA Working Party on Research. In the latter role she and colleagues run regular panels at regional and world conferences with presentations profiling primary care in different nations, which has led to a number of peer-reviewed publications, These can be found collated in the book Primary Health Care around the World: Recommendations for International Policy and Development.
Dr. Goodyear-Smith is a professor of general practice & primary health care at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has been involved in a number of projects on aspects of primary care research around the world, with an emphasis on research capacity-building. She has co-edited two books on this topic: International Perspectives of Primary Care Research, and How to Do Primary Care Research. She was previously Chair of the International Committee of NAPCRG, and current Chair of the WONCA Working Party on Research. In the latter role they have run regular panels at regional and world conferences with presentations profiling primary care in different nations, which has led to a number of peer-reviewed publications, collated in the book Primary Health Care around the World: Recommendations for International Policy and Development.
Stephanie Hansel, MSc Public Health has worked in public health and international development for more than 20 years. Working closely with partners in low and middle-income countries, she has contributed to the design and implementation of several innovative health service and education models in maternal and child health, mental health, family health and emergency care. For almost 10 years she served as Director of Continuous Professional Development at Juzoor for Health and Social Development, a leading national NGO in Palestine, where she supported public health policy and health systems strengthening efforts at the national level in Palestine, including promoting a family health approach to primary care which was later endorsed by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. She participated in the first conference of the Besrour Centre for Global Family Medicine in 2012 and has contributed to publications of The Besrour Papers Working Group. Ms. Hansel is currently a manager at Massachusetts General Hospital, Global Health Innovation Lab overseeing a health system strengthening initiative to improve emergency postpartum hemorrhage care in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America.
Cynthia Haq has served as a champion for health equity, primary health care, community health and family medicine throughout her career. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Haq was professor of family medicine and community health and cared for patients in rural Belleville, Madison, and urban Milwaukee (1989-2017). She led medical student education programs, implemented patient-centered communication curricula, and designed medical education programs to prepare health professionals to work with disadvantaged communities. In Milwaukee, she established Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health (TRIUMPH) to prepare medical students to become community-engaged physician leaders.
As founding director of the UW Center for Global Health, Haq promoted global health in Wisconsin and abroad. She served as a visiting professor to establish family medicine programs at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan; at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda; and at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. She worked with the World Health Organization and World Organization of Family Doctors to co-author Improving Health Systems: the Contribution of Family Medicine (2002, 2013), to guide development of health systems with strong foundations of community-based primary health care. She collaborated with UW colleagues catalyze global health education, field programs, research, and partnerships in low-resource settings.
Dr. Haq joined University of California, Irvine (UCI) as Chair of Family Medicine in 2018. UCI Family Medicine faculty and residents care for patients in federally qualified community health centers in Santa Ana and Anaheim, CA. UCI Family Medicine promotes health equity, community engagement and population health. The faculty train family medicine residents and provide Geriatrics and Sports Medicine and Geriatric fellowships. Dr. Haq has enjoyed a rewarding career as a family physician and teacher in service to communities in the US and abroad.
Amanda Howe qualified as MRCGP in 1983, has worked as a GP since 1984, and currently practices at Bowthorpe Surgery in Norwich. She is also Professor of Primary Care at the University of East Anglia. She has a wealth of experience within RCGP, where she has previously held the positions of Vice Chair of Professional Development and Honorary Secretary. She is a Board member of the East Anglia Faculty and was their Provost 2016-2019. She is also the immediate past President of WONCA – the World Organisation of Family Doctors – in which role she promoted the crucial role of GPs in running effective and efficient health systems.
Amanda has a substantive track record in educational innovation and research, and has led the GP teaching for the Norwich based MB BS since its inception. She is passionate about enhancing training opportunities for medical students and young doctors outside hospital settings to strengthen patient care in community settings. Her research interests include mental health, professionalism and resilience, and effective empowerment of patients and professionals in care, education and research. Her wish as President is to bring her experience to support members, and continue our learning together.
Raman Kumar was recently featured on the cover of ‘THE LANCET’ as a global primary healthcare leader. One of the first generation residency trained board qualified (DNB family medicine) family physicians, he holds a longstanding interest in making a contribution to primary care. Dr. Kumar is the founding president of the Academy of Family Physicians of India (AFPI), an organization that is spearheading the movement for the return of trusted family doctor tradition in India. Dr Kumar is credited with creating a large pool of young doctors eager to purse vocation in family medicine (Primary care practice). Dr. Raman Kumar is also the editor in chief of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care (JFMPC), a peer-reviewed, PUBMED indexed journal. He also has been conferred with several awards and recognitions which include the Healthcare Leadership Award 2012 India and Montegut Global Scholar Award 2013 by American Board of Family Medicine. He represented all young family physicians on the executive board of the WONCA (World Organization of Family Doctors) from 2013-2016. He continues to be on WONCA international leadership board as South Asia President. Coming from Bihar, one of the poorest states, Dr. Kumar has championed the cause of the rural population and the underprivileged section of the society. In 2018 he successfully organized the 15th World Rural Health Conference in New Delhi. The conference successfully culminated in the adoption of the “Delhi Declaration 2018’ calling for people living in rural and isolated parts of the world to be given special priority, if nations are to achieve universal health coverage. Delhi declaration, endorsed by WHO, revisited the Alma Ata Declaration with the aim to achieve the highest possible level of health for the communities we serve, with the goal of “Health for All Rural People.” Through his career, he has worked at several public and private health institutions in India throughout his career. Dr. Kumar has more than 70 publications in national and international journals and details can be provided at request.
David Ponka is the Director of the Besrour Centre (BC), College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). He has served as the BC Research Director and is the Chair of the Besrour Centre Advisory Council. Dr. Ponka is a family doctor in Ottawa, where he is also an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He has extensive experience in caring for vulnerable and migrant populations in Canada and abroad in nations such as Haiti, Chad and Panama. He has served as a Medical Advisor to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and is a member of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity.
Bohumil Seifert has been a head of the institute of General Practice at the First Faculty of Medicine, of Charles University, in Prague since 2009. This position has given him the opportunity to facilitate the development of academic general practice in the Czech Republic. He has been involved in pushing general practice to be recognized as an academic discipline in Central and Eastern European countries. He is involved in research on the epidemiology of gastrointestinal disorders and specifically interested in colorectal cancer screening. He also serves as a scientific secretary of Czech Society of General Practice and is also part of several international committees and WONCA working groups. In 2018, professor Seifert received the WONCA Fellowship Award.