By Gabriela Campillo F.

The young MICARE researcher, and Occupational Therapy academic from Universidad de los Andes, met with various authorities and institutions in the Basque Country, Spain, and then presented at the 18th WFOT International Congress in Paris, France.

Specifically, Antonia Echeverría began her journey at the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, where she met with the Vice Dean of Research and Innovation and the team of the Faculty of Medicine at the same University.

“We talked about the opportunities in terms of research and international collaboration in the transfer of knowledge for the professional training of undergraduate students,” Antonia explains.

Later, she visited the facilities of the IMQ Igurco Orue group, an institution dedicated to the rehabilitation of the elderly, as well as long-term care. “I was able to get to know the place and its work methodologies, together with the professional socio-sanitary team”, the young researcher indicates

On the third day of her visit, Antonia visited the Indautxu Health Center, Doctor Areilza Ambulatory. “During the visit I was able to get to know the professional primary care team, the intervention programs used, as well as the digital care registration platform, where I especially highlight the medication prescription system, which is integrated into the pharmaceutical network and which delivers information to the health teams”, Antonia explains.

The young MICARE researcher also presented: “Cross-cultural and statistical validation of the VIDA questionnaire in the Chilean context, a tool for early detection of functional deterioration and prevention of dependency in the elderly”, at the Bilbao-Basurto Integrated Health Organization.

Finally, Antonia Echeverría presented in Paris, France, at the 18th WFOT International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, with her paper “Cross-cultural validation of the VIDA Questionnaire, a tool for the early detection of functional deterioration and prevention of dependency, based on the performance of instrumental ADL, in older people in the province of Santiago, Chile”.

This research is within the execution of the FONIS Project oriented to the validation of the VIDA Questionnaire, an instrument that manages to investigate the first signs of dependency in self-reliant elderly people who live in the community.

Congratulations to our young researcher at MICARE! We hope to continue collaborating on more and better research around care and the elderly.

See some photos of her visit: