An intersectoral innovative solution involving DIGItal tools, empowering families and integrating community CARE services for the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and hypertension: DigiCare4You

Programme:

• H2020-EU.3.1.5. - Methods and data

Topic: SC1-DTH-13-2020 - Implementation research for scaling up and transfer of innovative solutions involving digital tools for people-centred care

Call for proposal: H2020-SC1-2020-Two-Stage-RTD

Funding Scheme: RIA - Research and Innovation action

Grant agreement ID: 945246

Project description

Families empowered to defend against diabetes
There are about 60 million people with diabetes in the European region. The prevalence of diabetes is increasing, mostly due to increases in excess weight and obesity, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. In this context, the EU-funded DigiCare4You project will deliver an intersectoral innovation involving digital tools for early screening, prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Specifically, more than 10 000 families will be targeted in two middle-income and two high-income countries. Schools will be an entry point to the community. While existing procedures for children’s periodic growth assessment (conducted via school nurses or in collaboration with local community health centres) will be improved, parents/caregivers will be screened via a non-invasive self-reported digital tool.

Objective

DigiCare4You Consortium will jointly work with local stakeholders to deliver an intersectoral innovation involving digital tools for early screening, prevention and management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension (HTN). An implementation study will be conducted, targeting more than 10,000 families in two Middle Income Countries (Albania and Bulgaria) and two High Income Countries (Greece and Spain), considering vulnerable groups. Schools will be used as an entry point to the community and building on an existing procedure for children’s periodic growth assessment (conducted via school nurses or in collaboration with local community health centres), parents/ caregivers will be screened via a non-invasive self-reported digital screening tool. Those identified at high risk for T2D will be referred for glycaemia testing and blood pressure (BP) measurements at local community health centres. Parents/ caregivers confirmed to have pre-diabetes or diabetes (and possibly high BP) will be invited to join a mHealth self-management intervention coordinated by the community healthcare workforce. The goal of this intervention is not only to improve the health status of the users, but also empower the entire family in adopting a healthy lifestyle. To this end, schools and communities will also be actively engaged to promote health literacy, well-being and support lifestyle changes creating a more supportive social and physical environment for the entire community. Regular monitoring will be ongoing during the implementation to allow corrective actions and ensure effective adaptation and uptake. Based on the study outcomes, the in-depth health economic evaluation and budget impact analysis, and data deriving from a Scalability Assessment and Decision-Support tool, national and international stakeholders will be invited to evaluate, through a series of webinars and workshops, the scalability potential of the DigiCare4You solution in other regions or countries in Europe.