Prevention of Disease

PREVE – Prevention of disease

PREVE project’s mission is to analyse and present prerequisites, knowledge foundation, and a coherent “plan of action” for ICT research directions targeting the prevention of disease and the preservation of health – tailored to the individual citizen.
It 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 lines that would be needed in building efficient and sustainable IT based services for primary prevention.
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.
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, behaviour/motivation, clinical risk factors; 4) ICT systems used in uncontrolled environments; 5) validation (proof of value); and 6) sustainable business models. 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, behaviour, risk factors etc., (c) a personalized intervention strategy that engages individuals as it guides, enables and motivates them in health management.







The work plan comprises three phases, as described in the table below.

The 3 Phases of PREVE:
Phase 1:	An in-depth analysis of the domain of PHS in prevention is performed. Through this the most prevalent diseases are selected. These are analysed for the established best practice in their primary prevention, included lifestyle management and modification. The research provides the definition and validation of a 2D matrix of disease – best intervention strategies for primary prevention.
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 initial 2D matrix, addressing the user segmented disease – best intervention strategies.
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 figure below summarizes the PREVE workflow.







Finally PREVE project will write a White Paper, in which the ICT research directions in disease prevention will be identified highlighting the (assumed) need to approach primary prevention from multiple complementary viewpoints.

Each phase concludes with an open consultation workshop.

PREVE Workshops
1st	selection of relevant disease and their prevention strategies	Barcelona – 16.03.2010
2nd	user segmented intervention strategies	Belfast – 14.06.2010
3rd	ICT research directions: PHS in primary prevention	Milan – early November

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, interest and concerns of the stakeholders, improving the validity of the final results.
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.
For further information, please visit the project website


Find out more about the PREVE Project