PREVE is a Support Action, funded under the FP7 4th ICT Call, not aiming to the development of actual solutions, but to perform a deep study in the main dimensions that could be of importance for the creation of innovative Personal Health System (PHS) in primary prevention and, as a result, to propose the necessary ICT research directions that would be needed in building efficient and sustainable IT based services for primary prevention.  The proposal focuses on primary prevention, because the market for PHS based services in secondary prevention is already emerging.

The lead idea of PREVE is "having the individual as a co-producer of health" and empowering individuals to take responsibility of their health with personalized ICT enabled PHS technologies and services. Therefore the project paves the way for a health service environment where individuals and health professionals work jointly towards health goals.

The work will be guided by a tentative intervention model that comprises:

(a) entry points or trigger events that provide a window of opportunity for starting prevention actions,
(b) a personal profile based on life stage, behavior, risk factors etc.,
(c) a personalized intervention strategy that engages individuals as it guides, enables and motivates them in health management.

Issues that will be considered in identifying the ICT research directions include:

1) prevalence of preventable diseases;
2) best practices for disease prevention;
3) user segmenting based on life stages, preferences, behavior / motivation, clinical risk factors;
4) ICT systems used in uncontrolled environments;
5) validation (proof of value); and
6) sustainable business models.

Policy Context

The project constitutes a Support Action funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

The Consortium comprises four partners: VTT - Technical Centre of Finland (Finland), HSR - Fondazione Centro San Raffaele (Italy), UPVLC - Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (Spain), AU - Aarhus University (Denmark), with VTT as the coordinator of the project.

Additionally an Adivisory Panel has been assembled to guide the project through its phase. Furthermore, external experts will be invited to three workshops, to share their expertise to the project. 

Description of the way to implement the initiative

The work plan of PREVE project comprises three phases:

Phase 1

In Phase 1 an in-depth analysis of the domain of PHS in prevention is performed. Through this the most prevalent diseases are selected and analysed for the established best practice in their primary prevention (including lifestyle management and modification). The research provides the definition and validation of a 2D matrix of disease - best intervention strategies for primary prevention. The results of the first workshop are availablehere.

Phase 2

In Phase 2 personalization needs of the intervention model (e.g. user segmentation by different criteria and motivational issues) are analyzed. This includes firstly an analysis of past and ongoing PHS projects and in the products and service already in the market place, with the intention to learn from their primary and secondary prevention strategies. Secondly, it looks into the personalization challenge through analyzing the constituent of personal profile, issues around motivation and needs of different user segments, such as in different life stages. This will add a third dimension to the 2D matrix, addressing the user segmented disease - best intervention strategies. Read more about the results of the second workshop on project websitehere.

Phase 3

In Phase 3 implementation issues are studied, i.e. how the response ability of individuals in primary prevention can be facilitated with ICT. This deals with an analysis of business models for ICT supported disease prevention, value network relations between the actors and stakeholders and ways for value creation and validation of value.

The results of PREVE will be published in a White Paper, which presents the identified ICT research directions in disease prevention, and highlights the (assumed) need to approach this topic from multiple complementary viewpoints.

Each phase concludes with an open consultation workshop. In the three workshops, the intermediate and final outcomes of the reflections and conclusions that will be developed in PREVE will be discussed and validated by an Advisory Panel and a group of additional experts. A multidisciplinary Advisory Panel (AP) has been assembled with the aim to validate and refine the results of the different phases of the project, while also contributing to the creation of excellence in the final outcomes of the project. This AP covers the main domains of interest of PHS devoted to primary prevention. This multi-disciplinarity guarantees that the outcomes of the PREVE project meet the different needs, interests and concerns of the stakeholders, improving the validity of the final results.

Technology solution

Technology choice: Proprietary technology

Main results, benefits and impacts

In Phase 1 the most prevalent diseases are selected. These are analysed for the established best practice in their primary prevention. I

n Phase 2 personalization needs of the intervention model (e.g. user segmentation by different criteria and motivational issues) are analyzed. This includes also an analysis of past and ongoing PHS projects and the market to learn from their secondary prevention ideas and solutions.

In Phase 3 implementation issues are studied, i.e. how the response ability of individuals in primary prevention can be facilitated with ICT. This includes an analysis of business models for ICT supported disease prevention, value network relations between the actors and stakeholders and ways for value creation and validation of value.

The final deliverable is a "White Paper" outlining ICT research directions for primary prevention. A multidisciplinary Advisory Panel has been assembled. It will be used to comment and critique the deliverables of the project in their draft stages. The intermediate results will also be discussed and evaluated in three workshops with invited experts.

Track record of sharing

The results of the project will be at the same time widely disseminated to the scientific, medical and research community as well as to the main stakeholders in the society (the individual itself, his close environment and the policy makers, planners and takers). This interaction with the world will also increase the awareness in relation to primary prevention, health promotion and risk prevention, smoothing the path for the future generation of PHS.

PREVE project owns a website: http://www.preve-eu.org, in which is possible to login, create an account and follow the work done so far and the next steps of the project.

Lessons learnt

1. "The citizen as co-producer of health": the citizen becomes responsible of his own health and has a more active role in both prevention and in disease-management, through the preservation of healthy lifestyle: in this view the citizen has in charge of his/her health and wellbeing and may engage others to assist and support him/her in this task.
2. Definition of co-creator network of actors that jointly build health and wellbeing of the citizen. This network includes the actors from different levels of the society, not only family, relatives, friends, but also health organizations, community, policies, legislations, media. The citizen himself can become co-creator for the health of someone near him. The co-producer model takes into account that health is co-created by the citizen also in relation to the environment. The environmental context defines the resources, the available options and the barriers that influence the citizen's choices and behaviours. Physical and social environment provide different options that can facilitate or impede behavioural decisions. Different actors from different levels of the environmental context should be included in the interventions strategies.
3. Creation of a value proposition: people would like to be healthy, so theoretically they all share a common goal. In practice in primary prevention the problem is that the individuals are only at risk of certain diseases and not really sick. For this reason, health seems to be something that individuals care about only when they lose it. In the creation of the value proposition for the primary prevention it's important to propose to the users other values (entertainment, environment protection, etc.), with positive consequences on their own health.

 

Scope: Pan-European