NEWSLETTER
Fifth edition - December 2025
For the fifth edition of the DigiCare4You newsletter, we’re excited to share not only the latest news from the project but also the emerging results from our intervention. Over the past year, our consortium and implementing partners have worked intensively to finalise and analyse data from the two-stage screening procedure, as well as the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness from the first-year follow-up.
This edition offers the first glimpse into these promising outcomes. What are the early results telling us? Across recruitment, clinical, behavioural and economic indicators, three key takeaways are already beginning to stand out:
- Having engaged over 34,000 families and identified more than 1,200 adults with intermediate hyperglycaemia (otherwise known as prediabetes) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), large-scale, community-rooted screening is both feasible and effective.
- The DigiCare4You model produces significant improvements in weight, glycaemia, blood pressure, lipids, diet, sleep and physical activity within just one year.
- The intervention has high potential for long-term cost-effectiveness, strengthening the case for its integration into routine community health and primary care structures in Europe.
With year two data cleaning and analysis now underway, the consortium continues its work to assess the full impact of the DigiCare4You intervention model. We look forward to sharing the final effectiveness and implementation results, in a later edition of the newsletter, as the project moves into its concluding phase.
For a deeper look at the numbers behind these early insights, explore the sections of the newsletter below, where we present the screening outcomes and the clinical, behavioural and economic findings in more detail.
Where are we now?
DigiCare4You successfully implemented a large-scale community screening effort, engaging families across Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Spain
The results from the two-stage screening procedure show that nearly 34,500 families were informed about the DigiCare4You programme through an outreach via schools and healthcare centres across Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Spain. More than 11,000 families (33%) agreed to participate in the first stage screening procedure, which resulted just under 20,000 parents/caregivers completing the FINDRISC questionnaire. In addition to the parents/caregivers, close to 15,000 children had their anthropometric data recorded. Among the screened parents, just over 5,000 (26%) individuals were identified as high risk for T2D, and over 2,500 of them completed the second stage screening, including glucose, blood pressure and anthropometric testing.
The two-stage screening procedure identified people living with prediabetes and new cases of T2D
Among those completing the two-stage screening, over 1,000 individuals (40%) were identified with intermediate hyperglycaemia (prediabetes) while just over 150 individuals (6%) were identified as living with T2D, which was newly diagnosed, and nearly 450 individuals had a pre-existing T2D diagnosis. Of those identified with prediabetes and T2D, nearly 850 adults with prediabetes and slightly under 400 adults with T2D agreed to participate in the 24-month intervention. The total number of people enrolled in the DigiCare4You programme is just over 1,200 adults and 1,300 children.
Participants' clinical data from the first-year follow-up are showing encouraging results
The preliminary results show that the DigiCare4You intervention significantly improved key clinical and behavioural outcomes after just 12 months. Among adults living with intermediate hyperglycaemia receiving the full intervention, fewer progressed to T2D, and more returned to normal blood glucose levels compared to the control group. Participants living with T2D were also more likely to see improvements, with many achieving lower HbA1c levels. Adults living with overweight or obesity experienced greater weight loss and BMI reduction, alongside lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Notably, these results were achieved without an increased reliance on medication.
Regarding lifestyle behaviours, participants demonstrated higher consumption of healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products and a reduction in consumption of red/processed meats, sweet snacks and sugary beverages. They also showed increased physical activity, improved sleep and reduced sedentary time. Overall, these results confirm that DigiCare4You is facilitating meaningful behavioural change and measurable clinical improvements.
Preliminary cost-effectiveness results suggest that the DigiCare4You intervention shows promising cost-effectiveness
Particularly when targeting people living with intermediate hyperglycaemia, the DigiCare4You intervention is showing promising cost-effectiveness, emphasising the importance for early prevention. The intervention was found to be cost-effective in Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, while results were less favourable in Spain due to higher resource use per case identified. When focused specifically on adults living with prediabetes, the intervention was cost-effective across all four countries.
Enhancing social connections and health literacy to adopt and maintain healthy, active lifestyles
Following the successful training of implementation partners on the Social Collaboration Platform, the DigiCare4You community component has now been running from more than one year. A local community network actively engaging families has now been established in each country. Across Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Spain, partners are now organising regular community events and activities—including physical activity sessions, healthy eating workshops, social gatherings, after-school and weekend meet-ups, and interactive family activities that promote play and movement. These initiatives aim to strengthen social connections, enhance health literacy, and support families in adopting and maintaining healthy, active lifestyles as part of the broader effort to prevent and manage T2D and hypertension (HTN).
What is happening behind the scenes?
First Capacity-Building and Recommendations Development (CBRD) workshop took place on May 14, in Lisbon, Portugal
A core objective of the DigiCare4You project is to assess the scalability and transferability of the solution. The CBRD workshop took place in conjunction with the International Conference on Integrated Care hosted by IFIC. The meeting brought together 45 experts, including members of the International Stakeholder Advisory Board, project partners and other stakeholders. We presented the progress of the project and held discussions that will feed into the development of the 'DigiCare4You Roadmap for Scale-up'. We'd like to thank everyone who participated in the first workshop.
Save the date!
The second Capacity Building and Recommendations Development (CBRD) workshop will be taking place on 29 April 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. Save the date emails have been sent, with official invitations to follow in January.
- Register your interest in attending: izabell.thunstrom@idf-europe.org.
Five new public deliverable summaries added to the website
Since the last edition of the newsletter, five new layman summaries of DigiCare4You deliverables have been published.
- Read the report on the outcomes of the testing and refinement of the digital tools used for screening here
- Read the first ethics and legal compliance report here
- Read the process evaluation plan and tools at the provider, participant and community level here
- Read the outcome evaluation plan and tools at the participant level here
- Read the inventory with available policies and services for the prevention and management of T2D and HTN at a national health system level and at a community health care services level in each country here
In case you missed it
Understanding the connection between kidney disease, T2D and hypertension (HTN)
Diabetes and HTN together account for 80% of end-stage kidney diseases cases making them two of the biggest risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Solutions like DigiCare4You, which focus on preventing and improving the management of T2D and HTN, are essential not only for better outcomes in these conditions but also for reducing the risk of complications such as CKD.
Learn more about CKD in our infographic here
Tips for healthy nutrition to help prevent and manage diabetes and HTN
To manage blood pressure and blood glucose levels it's important to limit foods high in saturated fat, sugar, and salt. These can negatively impact your health, so it's best to avoid processed foods, sugary drinks and salty snacks. Explore more about what you should eat, and what the World Health Organization recommends in our new video!
- Find more tips in our YouTube video from April 17, 2025 here
Understanding HTN - learn more about the condition affecting more than 1.2 billion adults worldwide in our video
Referred to as the 'silent killer', many individuals remain unaware of their HTN and are untreated for it until significant damage has occurred. Forty-six per cent of adults are unaware that they have hypertension, and only 21% of those diagnosed have their condition under control. But what is HTN exactly, and what are the risk factors?
Interview with consortium member from Ghent University
In June, we spoke with PhD researcher Delfien Gryspeerdt in health economics at Ghent University to hear about the work they are conducting to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the DigiCare4You programme. We talked about the importance of cost-effectiveness analysis in research, what the preliminary findings are showing and what lies ahead for them.
- Find the full interview from June 19, 2025 here
New video providing tips and recommendations for being physically active
Physical activity is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve our health. Regular physical activity can help prevent chronic diseases like T2D and HTN, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost thinking and learning. Getting started can be one of the hardest parts, so we put together a video to give you recommendations to get started!
- Find the full video published on our YouTube channel on July 15, 2025 here
Building healthier communities: DigiCare4You activities in Bulgaria
In May 2025, DigiCare4You colleagues from the Medical University-Varna ran community activities across Bulgaria to promote healthy lifestyles. From intergenerational games and workshops to clean-up campaigns and folk dance sessions, DigiCare4You colleagues are helping to build local environments that support healthier lifestyles.
- Find out more about the activities held here
Never miss a post again and join us on social media
DigiCare4You is on YouTube, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.
The DigiCare4You accounts on Facebook, X and LinkedIn promote the latest news of the project and consortium partners as well as the latest updates and events on T2D, HTN and digital technology in health. We also have the DigiCare4You YouTube channel which hosts the video content created for the project. Head over to our YouTube channel to watch our latest videos and subscribe to our channel to see our new content as soon as it's published!
About us
DigiCare4You seeks to improve the early prevention and management of T2D and HTN.
The project aims to do so by identifying parents/ caregivers already living with, or at risk, of diabetes and hypertension and secondly, developing a person-centred, community-based solution, that uses digital tools, to prevent the development of these conditions and/or improve their management and prevent and delay complications.
Furthermore, the project aims to assess the scalability and transferability of the DigiCare4You solution, within the implementation countries and beyond. The implementation study is conducted in two high-income countries (Greece and Spain) and two middle-income countries (Albania and Bulgaria).
For more information visit our website and social media pages
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