What we do

Health literacy is a crucial factor in promoting and maintaining health and well-being throughout life. Limited health literacy poses a challenge for health policies and practices. 

In this focus area, the JACARDI pilot projects aim to optimize the way individuals, communities and organizations access, understand and use health information, taking into account their social, cultural and economic characteristics.

Accurately monitoring risk factors, prevalence and progress of diseases is essential to identify health challenges and disparities.

The pilot projects in this focus area aim to improve data quality, collection methods and analysis for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. This is achieved through standardization and harmonization of the data, which allows for better comparisons between countries and helps to pinpoint opportunities for improving quality care from the patient’s perspective.

Identifying individuals with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes is essential, as the onset and progression of these conditions can largely be prevented through lifestyle changes and adequate management of risk factors. 

The pilot projects in this area aim to collect standardized information on the presence and distribution of specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes across European countries, so that targeted measures can be taken for the population at risk.

Once an individual is identified as high-risk for or diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases or diabetes, innovative care models should be implemented that adopt a proactive, person-centered, integrated care approach. 

The pilot projects in this area shift away from the traditional disease-based approach of health systems. Instead, they aim to implement person-centered integrated services that consider the ‘whole person’, taking into account biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors.

Optimal management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes relies significantly on patients’ active engagement in self-management practices. These have the potential to improve health and quality of life, reduce the need for health and social care, and lower the high costs of chronic care. 

JACARDI’s pilot projects in this area focus on various aspects of patients’ self-management, including making lifestyle changes, self-monitoring symptoms and self-treatment (such as adhering to prescribed medication and therapy), communicating with care professionals (including shared decision making), and coping with the consequences of the disease and treatment in daily life.

Individuals with non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, may struggle to participate in society, especially in the labor market. The Joint Action CHRODIS+ collaborated with stakeholders in various countries to develop a Workbox on Employment and Chronic Conditions. This Workbox offers tools and suggestions to assess and enhance workplace inclusivity, prevent non-communicable diseases, promote employee health, wellbeing, and workability, support return to work after sick leave, and assist individuals with non-communicable diseases to remain at work. 

The pilot projects in this area aim to enable intersectoral actions by strengthening cooperation between the employment and health sectors, and promote the use of existing tools, such as the Workbox on Employment and Chronic Conditions.

Number of pilot projects: 15

Countries of implementation: Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain