Co-design for reduction of Cardiometabolic Risk: implementation and effectiveness of a Tele-Health Coaching intervention with community outreach in Region Uppsala (PREVENT)

Cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension are a major threat to the attainment of SDG 3; and intersects with the Covid pandemic to exacerbate deficiencies in healthcare delivery and undermine chronic care.

The PREVENT project builds on a previous EU project (2015-19) and uses a mixed methods approach comprising two parts: 1) six-step co-design of a community outreach component by community stakeholders, participants and research team; and 2) pragmatic randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a staggered intervention that integrates tele-health coaching with community outreach.

Geospatial analysis using postal codes and laboratory parameters will be used to identify areas with the greatest need for prevention interventions.

Participants aged 30-75-years recruited through multiple strategies, will be screened for cardiometabolic risk using a validated instrument, ≈60-80 high-risk participants for co-design and ≈ 500 for pragmatic trial.

The interdisciplinary consortium of two higher education institutions, Region Uppsala and the Swedish Industrial Design Foundation specializing in co-design for system and policy transformations, has the collective expertise to lead the proposed work.

Understanding the process and outcome pathways of innovative interventions to reduce cardiometabolic risk and improve healthy behaviours is important for their transferability and scalability and an invaluable contribution towards health equity.