The JBI Collaboration extends to Greece

As the demand for evidence-based healthcare continues to grow across Europe, the JBI Collaboration continues to expand to meet that demand – this time into Southeast Europe. JBI is excited to welcome its first entity in Greece, the JBI University of West Attica Evidence Based Healthcare Center. 

Our newest addition fills a key gap on the JBI Collaboration map, extending JBI’s reach across Southeast Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. The new Centre is hosted by the University of West Attica (UNIWA) in Athens, Greece, which is the third-largest university in the country and considered one of the fastest growing universities in Southeastern Europe.

Left to right: Prof. Effie Papageorgiou (deputy director), Prof. Martha Kelesi (head of the Nursing Department), Prof. Theodoros N. Sergentanis (co-director), Prof. Evridiki Kaba (co-director), Stylianos-Sergios Chatziioannou (medical doctor) and Mrs. Maria Kitsou (social media manager).

Supporting Greece’s national health strategy

The timing of the Centre’s launch coincides with the announcement of Greece's new National Strategy for Quality of Care and Patient Safety 2025–2030. The new strategy identifies key priorities in governance, patient safety, training and health literacy to address healthcare disparities.

Addressing regional health priorities

The new Centre aims to fill the huge demand for systematic review training in Greece and neighbouring countries by offering JBI short courses in comprehensive systematic review training, which will provide significant value to health policymakers, consumers, healthcare professionals and key stakeholders, such as hospitals, within both local and regional contexts. Using JBI Methodology, the Centre intends to conduct and disseminate robust and trustworthy systematic reviews that address the country’s health priorities to inform policy and practice.

Assistant Professor Theodoros N. Sergentanis, co-director of the new Centre, specialises in epidemiology and research methodology, with a particular focus on cancer and other non-communicable diseases. In 2020, cancer was among the leading causes of death in Greece, accounting for 23% of all deaths, with lung cancer the most common type of cancer. This is closely linked to Greece’s high smoking rate, which is among the highest in the European Union, where one in four adults smoke daily, and the rising use of e-cigarettes among youth presents a growing public health concern.

Other major public health challenges in Greece pertain to the ageing of the population and multimorbidity, antimicrobial resistance, road traffic injuries, mental health, childhood and adolescent obesity, unmet healthcare needs among vulnerable groups, air quality in urban environments, and the multifaceted effects of climate crisis in the Mediterranean region ‘hotspot’.

Looking to the future

Given these serious health challenges, the Centre’s work will be important in generating the evidence needed to inform targeted interventions and public health campaigns. Asst Prof Sergentanis notes that:

By fostering collaboration and education, we will make every possible effort to integrate JBI methodologies into regional health policy and practice, with clear and measurable outcomes. There is a huge need for training in systematic reviews in Greece and neighbouring countries, which will be fulfilled by the Centre.

Prof Evridiki Kaba, co-director of the Centre, also sees the huge potential for the Centre to make a positive impact on local and regional stakeholders:

The systematic reviews that will be produced by the Centre will be valuable for health policy makers, consumers, healthcare providers and stakeholders, in the national and regional context.

We welcome the JBI University of West Attica Evidence Based Healthcare Center to the JBI Collaboration. The JBI Collaboration is the largest global collaboration to integrate evidence-based healthcare within a theory-informed model that brings together academic entities with hospitals and health systems.

Together with our global partners, we look forward to seeing the Centre drive impactful, evidence-informed healthcare in Greece and beyond.