The DigiCare4You study will be deployed in three phases:
1. Adapting the DigiCare4You solution to the local needs and contextual factors.
A two-stage screening procedure, based on the EU H2020 Feel4Diabetes-study will be followed by a mHealth, community-based intervention, based on the digital health solutions MetaDieta and MetaClinic powered by Meteda srl. Schools will be used as an entry point, with the first stage screening leveraging an existing procedure commonly applied among European countries for children’s periodic growth assessment, conducted via the school nurses or in collaboration with the local community health centres. During the children’s assessment, parents/caregivers will be offered a self-reported screening tool, such as the FINDRISC questionnaire to complete.
Those parents identified to be potentially at risk for T2D will be referred to a second stage screening, where glycaemia testing and blood pressure measurements will take place at the local community health centres.
Parents confirmed to have pre-diabetes or diabetes (and possibly high BP) will then be invited to join the mHealth self-management intervention, designed to promote a healthy and active lifestyle not just for themselves, but also for the entire family.
The intervention will be based on a personalised management platform using Artificial Intelligence to support the management and self-management of the people in the intervention.
2. Implementing and evaluating the DigiCare4You solution
A hybrid II implementation study will be designed to implement and evaluate the DigiCare4You solution. In all four countries, a cluster-randomized design will be followed, randomly allocating municipalities to the intervention and control arms.
3. Cost-effectiveness, scalability and transferability assessment of the DigiCare4You solution and capacity building to promote people-centred care in Europe
Based on implementation outcomes, a prediction model will be developed to assess cost-effectiveness and budget impact of the DigiCare4You solution. Furthermore, via participatory procedures researchers, local and international stakeholders and policymakers will evaluate the scalability and transferability of DigiCare4You solution in other regions or countries.