From Global to Local: Youth-driven public health actions
1
International Federation of Medical Students' Associations, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1550
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) promotes student-led Public Health activities through its Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH). To access and publicize innovative activities from their National Member Organizations (NMOs), a Google Form was created for NMOs to register their activities, the “SCOPH Spotlights”.
METHODS:
We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional content analysis of SCOPH Spotlights submissions during November and December 2025. Interventions were coded using a pre-defined analytic framework across: (1) public health thematic area; (2) intervention modality (health promotion/education; screening with counselling and/or referral; training/capacity-building; advocacy/community mobilization; service linkage); (3) implementation setting (community venues, public spaces, multi-site outreach, and digital platforms); and (4) partnership ecosystem, derived from the “externals involved” field. Self-reported output and reach indicators (e.g., participant counts, tests performed, registrations) were extracted.
RESULTS:
The 23 submissions demonstrate heterogeneous intervention modalities with recurrent scalable features, including delivery in high-footfall community settings and integration of prevention, counselling, and referral pathways. Reported activities included 1,603 blood glucose measurements with referral as needed and a multi-city preventive campaign, conducting 4,579 tests across seven cities. Community mobilization achieved substantial participation, with up to 500 participants in a gender-based violence awareness walk. Service-navigation interventions reached scale, including an organ donation campaign with >12,000 visitors and 6,793 registered donors, with subsequent transplants reported. Multisectoral partnerships were frequently described as enabling reach and continuity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Youth-driven public health actions within IFMSA demonstrate diverse, scalable intervention models with measurable reach and outputs across multiple settings and themes. The integration of prevention, service linkage, and community mobilization, supported by multisectoral partnerships, highlights the capacity of student-led initiatives to translate global public health priorities into impactful local action and contribute to health system strengthening.
The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) promotes student-led Public Health activities through its Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH). To access and publicize innovative activities from their National Member Organizations (NMOs), a Google Form was created for NMOs to register their activities, the “SCOPH Spotlights”.
METHODS:
We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional content analysis of SCOPH Spotlights submissions during November and December 2025. Interventions were coded using a pre-defined analytic framework across: (1) public health thematic area; (2) intervention modality (health promotion/education; screening with counselling and/or referral; training/capacity-building; advocacy/community mobilization; service linkage); (3) implementation setting (community venues, public spaces, multi-site outreach, and digital platforms); and (4) partnership ecosystem, derived from the “externals involved” field. Self-reported output and reach indicators (e.g., participant counts, tests performed, registrations) were extracted.
RESULTS:
The 23 submissions demonstrate heterogeneous intervention modalities with recurrent scalable features, including delivery in high-footfall community settings and integration of prevention, counselling, and referral pathways. Reported activities included 1,603 blood glucose measurements with referral as needed and a multi-city preventive campaign, conducting 4,579 tests across seven cities. Community mobilization achieved substantial participation, with up to 500 participants in a gender-based violence awareness walk. Service-navigation interventions reached scale, including an organ donation campaign with >12,000 visitors and 6,793 registered donors, with subsequent transplants reported. Multisectoral partnerships were frequently described as enabling reach and continuity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Youth-driven public health actions within IFMSA demonstrate diverse, scalable intervention models with measurable reach and outputs across multiple settings and themes. The integration of prevention, service linkage, and community mobilization, supported by multisectoral partnerships, highlights the capacity of student-led initiatives to translate global public health priorities into impactful local action and contribute to health system strengthening.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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