A comprehensive intervention strategy to increase health literacy on cancer prevention and care in healthcare professionals, patients and citizens

ongoing

iNTERVENE’s main objective is to support health literacy for cancer prevention and care, improve health literacy and reduce inequalities in cancer prevention and care. Its goal, underpinned by the Health Literacy Pathway Model, is to create a methodology and educational content extending citizens’, cancer patients’ (and their carers’), and healthcare professionals’ health literacy on cancer prevention and care. From a patient’s and citizen’s perspective, this will be achieved by increasing their knowledge on the impact of prevention on various cancers’ development (e.g. melanoma), promoting and cultivating their preparedness to engage in preventive behaviors (e.g. sun-protecting behavior, increased exercise) and providing empirically validated and free of medical jargon information on the cancer care continuum (e.g. increasing their understanding of treatments). From a healthcare professional's perspective, this will be achieved by increasing their knowledge on health literacy (e.g. through training and interaction with patients and citizens), a better understanding of the impact of low literacy on patients and citizens, and increasing capacity on specific communication and interaction skills. The objectives will be achieved through an innovative strategy that includes the development of a Health Literacy Hub including a Virtual library and a health literacy training programme for healthcare professionals, patients and citizens based on gamification and virtual patients for scenario-based training to ensure effectiveness, engagement and skill transferability. The programme will be developed through the establishment of a Living Lab approach with the participation of end-users, stakeholders and experts. The accessibility and outreach of the project will be increased by also developing conventional health literacy awareness material (e.g. leaflets) aiming to reach targeted groups at risk (e.g. with low digital literacy or displaced groups).