Digital Empowerment for Active Healthy Living in the Baltic Region

Aging populations increase pressure on healthcare systems in the BSR. The digital transformation is part of the solution. The EU is supporting this strategically and the EU’s Digital Decade e-Health Target is that by 2030, 100% of EU’s citizens have access to their electronic health data. However, if citizens lack digital Health Literacy (dHL) - ability to search, find, understand and use electronic health information and apply the knowledge to address a health problem - health inequalities may increase. This reflects broader systemic challenges impacting “Public service responsiveness” and quality. While Scandinavian countries have populations with high dHL, much of the BSR lacks digital maturity. The HorizonEurope Project IDEAHL (2022-2024) showed that healthcare professionals (HP) and their organizations (HO) also lack dHL, but if acquired, they can act as intermediaries between digital health solutions and their patients, especially vulnerable citizens groups (VCG) with average low dHL (e.g. elderly, refugees) and reduce inequalities.The DEAHL BALTIC includes key stakeholders from Poland, Latvia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden & Finland with the aim to address barriers targeting HPs and HOs: 1) Prepare a “dHL-Competence Building Package (dHL-CBP)” through a co-creative process involving stakeholders and building on best practices identified in IDEAHL, 2) Piloting, evaluating and adjusting the “dHL-CBP”, 3) Transferring the “dHL-CBP” to benefit citizens living in the entire BSR.