Velestino study

Pediatrician Dr. Anastasia Anastasiou was born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1955. After obtaining her diploma from the high school of Limassol with an “excellent” mark she participated in the pancyprian examinations of 1973 where she ranked 4^th out of all candidate students and was awarded a pre-graduate scholarship by the “IKY” foundation. During the same year, she was accepted as a medical student to the University of Athens Medical School where she studied until 1979.

In 1979 she started her compulsory rural medicine service in Ano and Kato Lechonia, prefecture of Magnesia, Central Greece and stayed there for the next 5 years after being chosen by the government as a permanent doctor in the above region.

During the years 1985-1988 she moved to Athens where she completed a 4-year residency program in pediatrics in the Athens General Children’s University Hospital “Pan & Aglaia Kyriakou” and became a board certified pediatrican.

From 1988 until 1989 she worked as a pediatrician in the pediatric department of “Iatriko Kentro” and in the neonatal departments of “Leto” and “Mitera” in the city Athens, while she was waiting for the acceptance of her application to start her carreer in the Greek National Health System (NHS).

In 1989 Dr Anastasiou became a consultant pediatrician for the Greek NHS and started working in the Health Center of Velestinos, Achillopouleio General Hospital of Volos, Central Greece for 15 consecutive years, eventually advancing to the level of director.

During the years 1993-1996, after being granted official permission by the NHS (approved by the Ministry of Health in Greece), she was awarded another scholarship by the “IKY” foundation and completed successfully a sub-specialization program in Infectious Diseases after studying at numerous University Hospitals in Greece (National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly) and in the United Kingdom (Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases).

In 2004 Dr. Anastasiou became an associate director in the pediatric department of Achillopouleio General Hospital of Volos and she has been working there ever since.

In 2008 she obtained the degree of chief director in the pediatric clinic.

During all these years Dr. Anastasiou has been heavily involved in medical education, prevention and promotion of health programs on a primary, secondary and tiertary care level. Among these activities, she has teached pre-graduate medical students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1994-1995, she has teached post-graduate students at the University of Thessaly in 2006-2008 and has organized numerous scientific panhellenic meetings in Greece and abroad. Since 2005 she is the founding member and president of the Health Care and Education Society (EFYKE), a society that specializes in the promotion of the well-being of children and adolescents.

Since 1994, Dr. Anastasiou has also been collaborating as a research assistant with the Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Athens. In 2004 she obtained her PhD in the Athens University Medical School on the field of the “Epidemiology of accidents in young people in the Velestino region”.

Throughout her career, Dr. Anastasiou has actively participated both as an observer and as a president of round tables in more than 500 scientific congresses in Greece and all over the world, including all congresses held by the Hellenic Society of Social Pediatrics and Health Promotion (EEKPPY) since 1988. She has presented more than 250 research works, including 5 research papers in peer-reviewed journals (scopus id: 55388364700, >76 citations).

Her general interests include: reading books, painting, poetry and travel.