Following its participation in the International Conference on Frailty and Geriatric Assessments 2025, the European team of the CAPAGE Project – comprising members from FH Joanneum (Austria), University of A Coruña (Spain), JAMK University of Applied Sciences (Finland), and Santa Maria Health School (Portugal) – engaged in key activities in Sri Lanka from February 18 to 21, 2025.
Visit and Validation of the University of Colombo Laboratory
On February 18, 2025, the new laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo was officially inaugurated in a ceremony attended by distinguished guests, including:
- Vidya Jyothi Prof. Vajira Dissanayake, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo
- Prof. H.D. Karunaratne, Vice-Chancellor, University of Colombo
- Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Media, Sri Lanka
On February 20, 2025, the CAPAGE team visited the laboratory to conduct a validation of the laboratory protocol, ensuring that the facilities meet the technical and scientific requirements for functional geriatric assessments and education in healthy aging.
Visit to the University of Ruhuna Laboratory in Galle
On February 21, 2025, Christoph Palli (FH Joanneum), Duarte Pereira (Santa Maria Health School), and Vanessa Sousa (Santa Maria Health School) traveled to Galle, in the Ruhuna province, to visit the University of Ruhuna laboratory and carry out its validation.
The validation process for these laboratories included:
- A detailed checklist review, covering physical space, accessibility, ventilation, safety, purchased equipment, human resource organization, and ethical issues, such as data protection and storage.
- Strategic questions, including identifying the principal users of the laboratory, access organization, and strategies to increase visibility and usability.
- Evaluation of laboratory activities and methodologies, including functional capacity assessment, personal autonomy, cognitive and nutritional assessments, as well as fall prevention and diabetic foot prevention.
- A SWOT analysis, conducted with faculty members and students, identifying strengths, challenges, agreements with healthcare institutions, and strategies for ensuring proper laboratory functionality.
Additionally, there was time for Christoph Palli from FH Joanneum to deliver a lecture to a packed auditorium of students and faculty at the University of Ruhuna. His presentation, titled “Dysphagia in Stroke & Dementia”, highlighted the significance of early identification and treatment of dysphagia in stroke and dementia patients.
With these visits, Santa Maria Health School reaffirms its commitment to high-quality education and research in geriatrics, contributing to the development of state-of-the-art laboratories in Sri Lanka.
This initiative is part of CAPAGE – Promoting Academic and Professional Excellence in Health Care to Meet the Challenges of Aging in Sri Lanka, an EU-funded project dedicated to advancing training and services in the field of healthy aging.
