WP6 – Smart Family meeting “Health4EUkids”
[Helsinki], [12th and 13th September 2023]
The “Health4EUkids” project of the joint action of the EU4Health European program co-funded by European Union and HaDEA is included in the field of health promotion and prevention of non-communicable diseases, by indicating best practices and specific risk factors from research results on childhood obesity, namely WP5 – Grünau Moves (Germany) and WP6 – Smart Family (Finland), in order to tackle the public health challenges of childhood obesity by finding policy solutions.
The “WP6 – Smart Family” general objective is to support MSs to develop a monitoring system on childhood obesity adapted to the national contexts, well suited to policy requirements and sustainable over time while the specific objectives are to support the development as well as the use of childhood obesity indicators for health policy evaluation and prioritization.
At the WP6 – Smart Family meeting of the European program “Health4EUkids” that took place on 12th and 13th September 2023 in Helsinki, Markku Tervahauta, the General Director of Terveyden ja Hyvinvoinnin Laitos (THL) and the responsible of the WP6 – Smart Family, Heli Kuusipalo, representative of the Terveyden ja Hyvinvoinnin Laitos (THL), welcomed the collaborated partners (Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain).
Also, a school visiting and a list of presentations took place. Paula Häkkänen, Head Physician in Health Promotion of HUS Helsinki University Hospital presented School health care promoting well-being and preventing obesity. Kati Kuisma and Taina Sainio of Sydänliitto presented tools and E-learning for trainers. Taina Sainio, Marjaana Kauranen, Anne Kuusisto, Kati Kuisma, public health nurse/healthcare professional and early childhood education professional /education professional, presented Smart family method in practice. Pilvikki Absetz, PhD Professor of Public Health, Faculty of Social Sciences of Tampere University, presented Strength-based approach to lifestyle counselling. Terhi Koivumäki, doctoral researcher of Tampere University presented Parental experiences of childhood obesity. Finally, Nella Savolainen, Senior adviser of Terveyden ja Hyvinvoinnin Laitos (THL) presented Pilot action plan for implementing elements of Finnish good practice Smart Family.
#HaDEA
The “HEALTH4EUkids” Joint Action aims to implement health promotion and prevention strategies for child obesity across European countries. It seeks to share best practices and research findings, particularly focusing on the initiatives Grunau Moves from Germany and Smart Family from Finland. The project involves knowledge transfer, cooperation between member states, policy development, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles in families and communities. Its goal is to prevent childhood obesity, increase physical activity and healthy diet, and ensure the sustainability and transferability of successful practices to other member states.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s EU4HEALTH Programme under the Grant Agreement no 101082462
