Project description
Empowering change to reinforce breast cancer prevention
In the battle against breast cancer (BC), primary and secondary prevention is a big challenge, as unhealthy lifestyle habits increase disease risk. Tailor-made lifestyle interventions with the use of digital tools supporting women in adopting healthier habits could minimise the risk of BC in a cost-effective manner. In this context, the EU-funded MELIORA project aims to transform BC prevention across Greece, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden. Specifically, eight tailor-made intervention studies using AI and digital tools will target healthy women at risk of BC, patients and survivors. Engaging 2 000 women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds will evaluate effectiveness and identify barriers hindering sustainable behavioural changes. As part of the Cancer Mission cluster, MELIORA invites stakeholders to explore the potential adoption of those interventions across Europe.
Objective
MELIORA Consortium will jointly work with local actors at different levels for the realization of eight (8) in total tailor-made lifestyle intervention and behavioural modification studies, including Artificial intelligence and digital tools, to promote sustainable behavioural changes among three target populations: i) healthy women at risk of developing breast cancer, ii) breast cancer patients and iii) breast cancer survivors. The studies will take place across 4 different European countries (Greece, Sweden, Spain and Lithuania) and 6 piloting centres targeting 2000 women in urban and rural areas including participants throughout the socioeconomic spectrum. Primary health care centres, hospitals or patients’/survivors’ organisations will be used as entry points to the community. The goal of the MELIORA Virtual Coach interventions is to evaluate its effectiveness, through assessing the effect of multiple individual and contextual factors to the uptake and sustainability of behavioural changes. At the same time, identification of specific bottlenecks and barriers that prevent the uptake of sustainable behavioural change will support the development of approaches on how to best reach and involve disadvantaged socio-economic population groups, vulnerable groups, and people living in rural areas, and will provide best practices for behavioural intervention uptake and scale-up. Regular monitoring will be ongoing during the implementation to allow corrective actions and ensure effective adaptation and uptake. Based on the study outcomes, the health economic evaluation and budget impact analysis, and data deriving from the scalability assessment, national and European stakeholders will be invited to evaluate, through workshops, the potential for adoption of the MELIORA Virtual Coach Interventions in other regions or countries in Europe.
This action is part of the Cancer Mission cluster of projects on “Prevention & early detection (behavioural change).
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.2.1 - Health Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
176 71 ATHINA
Greece