LONDON, March 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A campaign of financial incentives to help quit smoking; a project to help change attitudes of doctors to patients; and research into the prevention of death from severe malaria in children scooped three of the top prizes at the second international BMJ Group Awards ceremony held tonight.

The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Professor Marleen Temmerman for her commitment to improving women's reproductive and sexual health and rights, especially in Africa.

The BMJ Group Awards, held in association with MDDUS, recognise and celebrate excellence in healthcare across the globe. The categories reflect the values of the Group and include awards for corporate social responsibility, clinical research, healthcare communication and medical education. This year, for the first time, there were also awards given to the Junior Doctor of the Year, and the Primary and Secondary Team of the Year.

The ceremony, held in London, was presented by broadcaster and comedian Tony Hawks and was attended by some of the most influential men and women in healthcare from around the world.

The Leonard Davis Institute in Philadelphia won the Award for Getting Research into Practice for creating a partnership with The General Electric Corporation to test financial incentives to help smokers quit and convincing the company to implement this approach for all its 152,000 US employees this year.

Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner won the Award for Excellence in Healthcare Education for their Patient Voices programme - an internet-based digital storytelling scheme that allows viewers a glimpse into the lives of those who deliver and those who receive care. It has achieved a powerful impact on the attitudes of health care professionals and the stories are used as educational tools by royal colleges and universities in the UK and internationally.

Dr Melba Gomes, and her colleagues at the World Health Organization (WHO), won the Research Paper of the Year Award for their outstanding study into the prevention of death and disability from severe malaria in young children.

Junior Doctor of the Year, in a strong international field, went to Dr Evan Wood at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

The Primary Care Team of the Year is the Lonsdale Medical Centre in London for their work in adolescent depression and the Secondary Team of the Year is The Emergency Retrieval Service in Scotland for their work in transforming the care and transfer of seriously ill and injured patients in remote and rural Scotland.

This year's Health Communicator of the Year is Sarah Boseley, The Guardian's Health Editor, for her articles about the lack of access to essential medicines for poor people in the developing world, particularly in Uganda.

The Quality Improvement Award went to Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland for its work in collecting and publishing detailed accurate data on outcomes.

Dr Adrian Hopper and Dr Mark Kinirons, who work together at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, won the Award for Clinical Leadership.

Finally, the Award for Corporate Social Responsibility went to The Green Team at St. Michael's Hospital, in Toronto, Canada who have enabled the hospital to save energy, recycle waste, and reduce water consumption.

Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Professor Temmerman is a courageous campaigner on behalf of women's health. As Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Hospital in Belgium, Head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at the Ghent University Hospital, and a senator in the Belgian Parliament, Professor Temmerman powerfully combines politics and medicine.

She created the International Centre for Reproductive Health, based in Ghent and Kenya, one of the world's centres of excellence in reproductive and sexual health and rights.

Professor Temmerman has also published more than 250 scientific articles and four books, coached more than 120 research projects, and is a consultant for WHO and other international organisations.

Speaking after the ceremony, Professor Temmerman said: This award gives me the forum to highlight the values and the topics that are important to me and to ask for attention and commitment from the scientific and political communities of this world for women's health and rights worldwide. Winning this award means a lot, as it is a recognition of our work - not only of its scientific value but also of the importance of combining science with social responsibility and social values.

Professor Gordon Dickson, CEO of the Medical and Dentists Defence Union of Scotland MDDUS said: MDDUS is proud to sponsor the BMJ Group Awards. The awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the expertise and commitment of those who work so hard in the Health Service both here and internationally to deliver high quality care for patients.

Visit http://groupawards.bmj.com for the full list of winners. Photographs of the winners are also available on request

The other sponsors of the BMJ Group Awards are: GSK, NHS Evidence, The Royal College of General Practitioners Foundation, MSD, The NHS Medical Directorate, The Health Foundation, Mckinsey and Company, HCL plc, Alliance Boots, BUPA, Orange, Medisave and the RAF.

For further information or to arrange an interview with any of the winners, please contact: Richard Price, Awards Press Officer Mobile: +44(0)7703-486-522 Email: richard@interpretinternational.com or Emma Dickinson, BMJ Group Press Office, London, UK Tel: +44(0)20-7383-6529; Mobile: +44(0)7825-118-107 Email: edickinson@bmjgroup.com

SOURCE: BMJ Group Health Care Awards

CONTACT: For further information or to arrange an interview with any ofthe winners, please contact: Richard Price, Awards Press Officer, Mobile:+44(0)7703-486-522, Email: richard@interpretinternational.com; or EmmaDickinson, BMJ Group Press Office, London, UK, Tel: +44(0)20-7383-6529;Mobile: +44(0)7825-118-107, Email: edickinson@bmjgroup.com