Despite advances in treatment and screening, cancer remains a major public health challenge in Europe. Many cases could be prevented by addressing modifiable behavioural, psychological, and environmental risk factors. Yet a persistent gap exists between people’s awareness of cancer risk and their ability or motivation to act accordingly. iBeChange addresses this gap by promoting primary cancer prevention through an innovative, digital, and user-centred approach that integrates behavioural science and data-driven technology. The project focuses on enabling and sustaining healthy behaviours to reduce the risk of lung, breast, and colorectal cancer. At the same time, it aims to support policymakers and healthcare professionals with evidence-based tools and recommendations to drive systemic change towards preventive care.The project’s objectives are structured around three strategic areas:
1. Sustainable behavioural change at the individual level via a smart digital platform with a reinforcement learning-based recommender system, smart tracking of behavioural and emotional patterns, co-designed strategies, and tailored interventions. The platform will be tested in a large-scale clinical study involving 1,800 users across Italy, Spain, and Romania.
2. Systemic transformation by analysing clinical and behavioural datasets to produce evidence-based policy recommendations and awareness campaigns.
3. Scientific contribution, by evaluating the platform’s feasibility, effectiveness, usability, and cost-effectiveness through studies, publications, and economic analysis.
The behavioural framework, co-design, and ethical tools are built on interdisciplinary collaboration across psychology, ethics, communication, and technology professionals. This integration ensures the technological innovation is user-centred and aligned with societal values.
The expected impacts of iBeChange are both short and long-term. iBeChange aims to improve health behaviours in at least 40% of recruited participants and supports Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan by advancing citizen empowerment, literacy, and digital prevention. By delivering a digitally-enabled and ethically-informed ecosystem for behavioural change, iBeChange lays the groundwork for a more proactive, participatory, and preventive approach to cancer risk reduction in Europe.
