The European Public Health (EPH) Conference is an annually organised scientific conference on public health issues in Europe. EPH 2025 was held in Helsinki, Finland between the 12-14 November, 2025. The conference actively seeks a larger partnership with other European NGOs and institutions. With 3,000 attendees, this conference is a great opportunity to hear the most current discussions and research in the field of public health science and  it is considered the premier European gathering of public health professionals worldwide. 

At the EPH 2025 COTEC had an exhibition stand together with the Finnish Association of Occupational Therapists, TOI. 

An important part of the conference are the EUPHA Section meetings. COTEC President had the opportunity to attend some of the section meetings and meet the chairs of the sections to discuss future collaborative actions. 

Next year the theme of EPH2026 will be Urban and global synergies: shaping the future of public health with climate resilience, equity and innovation.  COTEC wishes that many occupational therapists would consider submitting abstracts to EPH 2026 and attend the conference in Bilbao, Spain. 

Finally, a quote from Eva Paakkanen, who, together with Anu Söderström, represented our profession at the conference. This is how she describes her experience: 

“For the recognition of the uniqueness of our profession, it is important to spread the knowledge about Occupational Therapy and how to utilise the expertise of occupational therapists in the field of Public Health. The stand in the conference made it possible a lot of health care professionals and researchers at once, and raise the awareness about occupational therapy. Also, it enabled multidisciplinary networking nationally and internationally. As health care professionals, we also need interdisciplinary research collaboration for finding new ways and innovations to solve problems in the society.

To me, the EPH Conference made it even more visible, that it the changing world, there is a need for occupational therapists in new working environments. The expertise of our profession is needed in various settings where there is a need to build bridges to people’s everyday lives and find meaningfulness through occupations. The many conversations we had at our stand clarified, that Occupational Therapy and meaningful occupation interests professionals and researchers from many fields. However, there is still work to be done so that the core of our profession is properly recognised.” (Eva Paakkanen, Development specialist, TOI) 

You can also read the Joint Statement of the 18th European Public Health Conference 2025