ERA4Health call launch “Increasing health equity through promoting healthy diets and physical activity”

We are delighted to announce the ERA4Health call for transnational research proposals “Increasing health equity through promoting healthy diets and physical activity (HealthEquity)”! The call is launched on the ERA4Health page and was brought to the table by HDHL based on the Implementation Plan 2022-2024. The text was written in collaboration with the HDHL Scientific Advisory Board and the involved funding organisations and can be found by clicking on the link above. The deadline for proposal submission is on 14 March 2023 (15.00 CET). The aim of this call is to develop novel strategies and targeted approaches to identify, understand, and modify determinants and mechanisms of diet-related behaviour and physical activity as well as sedentary behaviour, which have the potential to break through the cycles maintaining unhealthy behaviours and lifestyles and to reduce health inequalities.

The aim of the call is to develop novel strategies and targeted approaches to identify, understand, and modify determinants and mechanisms of diet-related behaviour and physical activity as well as sedentary behaviour, which have the potential to break through the cycles maintaining unhealthy behaviours and lifestyles and to reduce health inequalities. Research should be targeted at socio-economically disadvantaged groups and their setting, including the family, social, cultural, and local background, as well as digital influences. The applicants need to clearly define and justify their selection of target group(s). In addition, the strategy how these target groups will be reached needs to be innovative and outlined in detail. Proposals should comprise holistic and multi-disciplinary research, that must include several approaches tackling different aspects, such as:

  • Mapping the current situation of the vulnerable groups with respect to food and built environment for physical activity
  • Developing and testing innovative interventions/ targeted strategies, that
    • may target the food environment and/or the built environment for physical activity and/or
    • may address illiteracy by increasing knowledge with respect to food, lifestyle and adequate use of digital media and/or
    • may be focussed on different settings, including but not limited to day-care, schools, workspace, retirement homes, neighborhood, and/or
    • may use a life course approach.
  • Evaluating existing interventions, e.g. to identify barriers in the implementation;
  • Assessing the efficiency of policies and fiscal approaches (e.g. taxes and subsidies) that were implemented to enhance healthy diets and physical activity;
  • Expanding the theoretical basis on the systemic barriers to change, e.g. political, economic and/or cultural barriers to increase the effect of interventions.

The research results should have a clear potential to be translated into policy recommendations or actions.

Participating countries in this call are: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Taiwan, The Netherlands and Türkiye. Please visit the ERA4Health page for more information regarding this transnational call.

In line with this, there will be an ERA4Health info webinar on the Joint Transnational call organised on 26 January 2023. Registrations are open, more information is available on the ERA4Health website. 

The Partnership “Fostering a European Research Area for Health” (ERA4Health) aims at establishing a flexible and effective coordination between funding organisations in the European Research Area (ERA) for Health and Well-being. This Partnership brings the opportunity to increase European transnational collaborative research funding by creating a funding body for joint programming in priority areas addressing European public health needs. Under this umbrella, the European Union co-funded joint transnational call “Increasing health equity through promoting healthy diets and physical activity (HealthEquity)” will be launched.

More information on the ERA4Health HealthEquity call.

More information on the webinar.

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