JA PreventNCD

• Addressing Social Inequalites and Risk Factors

• A key objective is to tackle social inequalities by addressing the root causes of NCD risk factors and adopting a life-course approach. The project aims to build a comprehensive European infrastructure for monitoring factors related to cancer and other NCDs. This includes building on existing knowledge and exploring new methods for monitoring risk factors, disease burden, and the impact of policies and interventions​​.

• Alignment with European Health Initiative

• The project aligns with the objectives of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and the 'Healthier Together - EU NCD Initiative'. Activities are organized through mandatory work packages, focusing on coordination, dissemination, evaluation, policy integration, and technical areas like social inequality and health policies. These activities are supported by research evidence on the causes of cancer and other NCDs and effective intervention strategies. Moreover, four Action Grants are connected to this JA: ELISAH, FILTERED, PEACHD and Showup4Health.

• Holistic Approach to Health and Equity

• The overall and specific objectives of JA PreventNCD are influenced by the priority actions in Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Non-Communicable Diseases Initiative - Healthier Together. The project emphasizes that health is created by policies across sectors, and thus, it is crucial to consider the health and health equity implications of these policies. Addressing socioeconomic disparities and social determinants that influence exposure to major risk factors for cancer and NCDs is vital for this initiative​​.

• JA PreventNCD aims to support Member States in implementing effective cancer and NCD prevention strategies. This involves a coordinated approach across six technical work packages, addressing health determinants common to cancer and NCDs, and assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of different prevention methods across Europe. A further four management and support work packages will ensure that a project's technical outputs reach the right audiences, are implemented in a sustainable way and meet ethical standards.

• WP 01: Coordination
  The objective of the work package is to ensure that the JA fulfils the necessary administrative and budgetary requirements, as well as fulfils the general and specific objectives set out in this proposal in compliance with the grant agreement.

• WP 02: Dissemination and Communication
  The aim of work package is to facilitate coherent, effective, and sustainable external and internal communication of the JA and to ensure that its objectives, activities, results and deliverables are known to both the project partners and all other stakeholders of the action.

• WP 03: Evaluation
  The general objective of this work package is to evaluate the progress of the JA against its internal milestones and deliverables and to ensure that the JA accomplishes its established objectives. Also, this work package aims to ensure that all outcomes of the JA achieve high standards of quality and have a significant impact both, at EU level, as well as at participating Member States level.

• WP 04: Sustainability
  The overall objective of work package is to foster the transfer and sustainable integration of the results and outcomes of the technical JAPreventNCD work packages -5 to 10- into national and European policies. Therefore, this work package will strongly collaborate with all the technical work packages.

• WP 05: Regulation and Taxation
  The overall objective of work package 5 is to improve compliance, coherence, wider implementation and enforcement of fiscal and regulative measures targeting major NCD-risks factors.

• WP 06: Healthy Living Environment
  The main objective of this work package is to implement and evaluate interventions with an integrated approach to address the main social determinants of cancer and other NCDs in different settings as well as through cross-settings actions covering the population life course.

• WP 07: Social Inequalities
  General objective of this work package is to ensure that the JA contributes to cancer and other NCDs inequalities reduction in Europe.

• WP 08: Monitoring
  The general objective of work package 8 is to enhance the monitoring systems for cancer and other NCDs at several levels (European, national, regional and local scale) in order to support health care policies aimed to control and reduce the disease burden and to contribute to the reduction of health inequalities.

• WP 09: Health in All Policies
  The main aim of this work package is to strengthen the implementation of Health in All Policies (HiAP) across different governance levels, focusing particularly on key risk factors and determinants to prevent cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

• WP 10: Identify Individuals At Risk
  The general objective of this work package is to reduce the burden of cancer and other NCDs mainly at the personal level by providing guidance and producing further evidence on integrating information from genetic determinants, demographic, behavioral characteristics (individual-level-factors) into a holistic approach for cancer and other NCDs prevention.

Fisabio and the General Directorate of Public Health (DGSP) serve as the lead beneficiaries of work package 6 while Fisabio also participates of the technical work packages 7 and 8, ensuring strategic oversight and implementation of JA PreventNCD objectives. In this capacity, Fisabio also acts as the Spanish competent authority, coordinating the efforts of affiliated entities, including the Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (AESAN), Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO), Fundación Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (IDIVAL) and the Ministerio de Sanidad (Ministry of Health). This collaborative framework enhances national alignment within the project, fostering synergy among institutions to optimize public health policies and research outcomes.

Going into detail, research groups from Fisabio carry out the following tasks:

• WP6 Healthy Living Environment

• Local Action and Health Equity research group leads and coordinates the work package along with the Croatian Institute of Public Health (Croatia) and the Medical University of Silesia (Poland) as co-leads. It will therefore be involved in all work package tasks:

T6.1. Methodology

This task aims to develop a holistic methodology for assessing cancer- and NCD-related social determinants, ensuring intersectorality, community participation, and equity in the design and evaluation of interventions across multiple settings.

T6.2. Increasing Availability of Healthy Products and Facilities

The objective is to increase access to healthy choices and physical activity by mobilizing intersectoral policies and community participation to co-create equitable healthy living environments.

T6.3. Healthy Urban Environments

Urban environments, despite exposing populations to multiple health risks, offer opportunities for large-scale interventions that enhance public health, social cohesion, and climate resilience, though ensuring equity remains a challenge.

T6.4. Promoting Environments Free of Unhealthy Products

This task focuses on preventing tobacco, nicotine, and alcohol use while promoting healthy eating through tailored national and international best practices, coordinated actions, and inclusive policy recommendations.

T6.5. Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services

Breastfeeding is vital for preventing NCDs and improving health outcomes, but low rates in Europe highlight the need for systemic support. The recognized best practice of "Baby-Friendly Community Health Services" wil serve as a model.

T6.6. Interactive Platform for Capacity-Building

The platform will not only collect and organize health promotion knowledge but also facilitate interactive capacity building, training local health promotion trainers, and strengthening interventions on health determinants.

T6.7. Building Infrastructures for Health Promotion at Supersettings Level

This task focuses on implementing the supersetting approach to intersectoral health promotion by identifying infrastructures, tools, and methods that support sustainable interventions and policy responses.

• WP7 Social inequities Healthy Living Environment

• The on Equity in Cancer and Public Health research group is involved in all Work Package tasks, while Task 7.5 also has the contribution of Quality of Life at All Stages of Life and Local Action and Health Equity research group:

T7.1. Collect and synthetize available evidence on inequalities in cancer and other NCDs and their risk factors

This task focuses on collecting and synthesizing evidence on avoidable inequalities in cancer and NCD morbidity and mortality across different levels, mapping data sources, and recommending improvements in data collection.

T7.2. Identify evidence on actions and policies that address inequalities in cancer and other NCDs

To address inequalities in cancer and NCDs, this task identifies existing policies and actions, develops a web-based repository, and ensures long-term sustainability through European and national collaborations.

T7.3. Capacity building/training for the working groups implementing the pilot/ action

Supporting pilot action working groups, this task facilitates the application of equity-focused tools and methodologies such as HEA and HEIA.

T7.4. Strengthening health literacy to reduce inequalities in cancer and other NCDs

Enhancing health literacy is a key objective, aiming to reduce health inequalities by addressing digital, organizational, and mental health literacy, with a focus on ethnic minorities and immigrant populations.

T7.5. Plan and implement specific pilot actions which address social determinants of health and/or exposure to risk factors

The planning and implementation of pilot actions target mechanisms driving health inequalities, structured around health monitoring, education and health literacy, and support for vulnerable populations.

• WP8 Monitoring

• Epidemiological Research into Rare Diseases and Congenital Anomalies research group participates in the following tasks from the work package:

T8.1. Research and overview of relevant risk factors, data sources, and implementation/scaling potential

A framework for health monitoring is developed by defining key terms, mapping data sources, assessing legal and ethical considerations, and creating a Monitoring Assessment Tool based on the Model for ASsessment of Telemedicine (MAST) model.

T8.4. Monitoring access to health care and health care costs on a population level

Methodologies are developed to monitor NCD healthcare access and costs, piloting the Epicost model, estimating cancer recurrence risks, analyzing microeconomic healthcare costs, and using simulation modeling to inform policy decisions.

T8.5. Gap analysis, value scores for monitoring risk factors and recommendations for monitoring as well as experience based implementation potential

This task aggregates findings on monitoring tools and risk factors, refines the MAST tool, conducts a gap analysis, and provides recommendations to enhance NCD and cancer monitoring across European countries.

• WP9 Health in All Policies

• Local Action and Health Equity research group participes in the tasks:

T9.1. Strengthened implementation of Health-in-All-Policies at the various levels of governance to prevent cancer and other NCDs

This task seeks to strengthen the implementation of the Health in All Policies approach at European, national and subnational levels, analyzing legal frameworks, structures, processes and actors involved. Experiences and reforms in six countries will be studied in order to draw lessons and recommendations to improve implementation at different levels of government.

T9.5. Review and redesign/strengthen the use of Health (in) impact assessments

This work aims to strengthen the incorporation of health and health equity in policy impact assessments by analyzing existing tools, developing a comprehensive checklist and improving capacity building in European countries. Online resources will also be created to share good practices, procedures and case studies related to these assessments.

T9.6. Wellbeing economy

This task aims to develop a practical framework for the implementation of the Welfare Economy approach, integrating health and health equity as key elements. Through the analysis of policies, interventions, budgets and good practices, tools and recommendations will be identified to move towards economies that prioritize the sustainable well-being of people and planet.