Improving Digital Empowerment for Active Healthy Living

Project Information

IDEAHL

Grant agreement ID: 101057477

DOI

10.3030/101057477

Project closed

EC signature date 12 June 2022

Start date 1 May 2022

End date 30 April 2024

Funded under

• Health

Total cost

€ 2 791 350,00

EU contribution

€ 2 791 350,00

Coordinated by

CONSEJERIA DE SALUD - PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IDEAHL (Improving Digital Empowerment for Active Healthy Living)

Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2024-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Digital technologies empower citizens and professionals to manage health, support healthy aging, and improve disease prevention and treatment. Digital solutions that give citizens access to their personal health data are also central to supporting the transformation of care, empowering citizens to become active participants in the management of their own health.
The IDEAHL project involved over 1,500 stakeholders, from citizens/patients to health care and social services, policy makers, non-health sectors, academia, etc. in 10 countries running pilot projects. It also supports social innovation for person-centred care models.
The “health literacy”(HL) definition of EU Health Literacy Consortium was the purpose of IDEAHL: HL entails people’s knowledge and skills to access, understand, appraise and apply health information to make judgments and decisions in everyday life about health care, disease prevention and health promotion. “eHealth” refers to the use of ICT in health products, services and processes, combined with organisational changes in health systems and new skills to improve citizens’ health, efficiency and productivity. As defined by the EU Eurobarometer on digital health literacy and by the IC-Health project, "digital health literacy” (dHL) is the ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from electronic resources to make appropriate health decisions or solve a health problem.
IDEAHL aligns with EU4Health 2021-2027, enhancing digital transformation, trust in technology, and stakeholder involvement in developing dHL solutions. IDEAHL have made citizens and professionals see the potential of digital tools for active healthy lifestyles. It enhances a stronger EU and government investment in dHL, along with promoting stakeholder involvement in the development process of dHL solutions. IDEAHL achieved this by co-designing, developing, piloting, monitoring and evaluating a dedicated EU dHL Strategy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

IDEAHL project began in May'22. The kick-off event was held May 24-25 in Asturias (face-to-face/virtual) organized by the coordinating team (CSPA-FICYT-SESPA) with 40 participants from 10 partners, members of the Advisory Board (AB), and the IDEAHL Project Officer, where actions and responsibilities for the project were explained.
Its main results are:
WP1- Collaborative work to map HL and dHL (T1.1) and to map best practices of HL and (d)HL and monitoring and evaluation approaches/frameworks of HL and (d)HL (levels) in Europe and beyond, coordinated by UCN as WP1 leader (T1.2) and by SeAMK (T1.3). The results are summarized in D1.1.
• A network of Champions (authors of the studies identified as best practices and champions in promoting HL and dHL) was created with 22 members.
• A Global Atlas of Literacies for Health (GALH) was launched (www.ideahl.eu/results or www.rmit.eu/galh) (see methodology in D1.2).
• A high-level policy event was held at the EU Parliament on March'23, where the project was endorsed by policymakers (MS2; D1.3).
WP2- A detailed co-creation methodology was created (D2.1). 140 co-creation activities were carried out involving 1,434 citizens from 19 different target groups and 10 different countries (D2.2). The EU dHL Strategy was released on October 30 (D2.3; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11395540).
WP3- Implementation phase - 12 pilot actions were carried out (see D3.1) in the 10 project countries, and 3 of them were replicated by external agents. They served to monitor and evaluate the EU dHL Strategy.
WP4- Experts on Gender (9), Inclusion & Equity (7), and Ethics & Privacy (8) participated in a workshop (November 2023). A toolkit for inclusion, ethics, and privacy issues for healthcare professionals and policymakers was published (versions 1, 2, and 3). The IDEAHL study protocol was drafted and received favorable approval from ethics committees.
WP5- The IDEAHL website, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channels were created. D5.1 (v1 and v2) on dissemination strategy was produced. A Memorandum of Understanding was developed, which includes a sustainability plan to continue the project's dissemination.
WP6- Consortium agreement, management structure, project materials developed (deliverables, technical & financial templates; financial justification & publication guidelines). Three General Assembly meetings were held: the kick-off (2022), interim (2023) and closing Conference (Brussels, 2024), 23 monthly SC meetings, and 4 meetings with the participation of AB members. Deliverable quality assurance, risk identification, and evaluation of project results for continuous internal evaluation of the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The major impact will be obtained by co-creating and delivering a comprehensive and inclusive EU-wide Strategy for dHL, including a pilot of strategical actions in 10 EU Member States. These (d)HL interventions will improve the capacity of their users to deploy the Internet and the digital tools as means that facilitate the provision of health information, support, and services. IDEAHL will build on lessons learnt and past experiences to define common European standards and indicators to monitor and assess (d)HL levels. With this, Member States will have the right tools to actively contribute to health literacy efforts, monitor and evaluate them. IDEAHL fulfills the expected outcomes of the call and the objectives of Horizon Europe (HE) destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. In particular, thanks to IDEAHL the following impacts will be achieved:
•Citizens will adopt healthier lifestyles and behaviours, make healthier choices, and maintain longer a healthy, independent and active life with a reduced disease burden, including at young and old ages or in other vulnerable stages or positions.
•Citizens will be empowered, through (d)HL actions, to manage better their own physical and mental health and well-being, monitor their health, and interact with their doctors and health care providers.
•Citizens’ trust in dHL interventions and in guidance from health authorities will be strengthened at all levels of the society including at young ages, resulting in increased engagement in and adherence to effective strategies for health promotion, diseases prevention and treatment.
•Dialogue and coordination between stakeholders and policy makers as well as integration across different settings will be ensured to develop more effective cross-sectoral (d)HL solutions for all.
The impact of the IDEAHL EU dHL Strategy will be not only on Member States’ healthcare systems and social services, but also on citizens at social and personal level. Overall, European citizens will be directly reached by the project, educated, motivated, and empowered to use digital tools for monitoring and managing their own physical, mental, and social health and well-being. As a result, they will take on a more active role in achieving their health potential and in adopting healthy lifestyles at work, and with their community.

Logo of the project IDEAHL