Medical Delta 'Healthy society program'

In South Holland, people live on average shorter lives than in other parts of the Netherlands. There are also significant health disparities between different population groups. Our healthcare system focuses on 'curing' rather than prevention, even though the latter is becoming increasingly important. The Medical Delta 'Healthy society program' aims to harness the potential of South Holland for a healthier society, with reduced health disparities and an emphasis on prevention and citizen participation.

The program encourages the development of personalized health solutions, fostering close collaboration with residents, knowledge institutions, governments, and health practices. 

Health issues from society

Health issues from society form the foundation of the Medical Delta 'Healthy society program'. The program utilizes proven insights and tools to address these issues and scales successful initiatives by adapting them to the local context and needs of all residents of South Holland. 

South Holland offers a diverse landscape, with urban issues such as debt and unhealthy living environments, heterogeneous groups of vulnerable citizens, and more rural areas. This makes South Holland a fertile ground for collaboratively developing and scaling health interventions.

Transdisciplinary approach for complex problems

Health and well-being are often not attributable to a single cause. For example, stress from a broken marriage, prolonged loneliness, or an unhealthy home can lead to mental and physical problems. Often, there is a deeper layer underlying health issues, which calls for a broader approach, more preventive measures, and collaboration across domains and disciplines. Different perspectives, such as physical, mental, social, and economic aspects, as well as the physical living environment, must be integrated. 

The Medical Delta 'Healthy society program' combines expertise and methodological knowledge from various fields such as data science and AI, philosophy, (urban) planning, design sciences, medicine, public health, pedagogy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, public administration, political science, business administration, and law. Together with residents and local governments, the program seeks preventive solutions for complex health issues. 

Goals

The program aims to centralize the knowledge, experiences, and needs of all residents of South Holland by:

• network formation and coordination: Connecting and enriching existing knowledge, initiatives, and partnerships aimed at promoting a healthy society. This includes collaboration and coordination within six different themes;
• method development for, among other things, transdisciplinary work, implementation, and scaling;
• implementation projects: Realizing scaling projects in the province of South Holland, where innovative and transdisciplinary approaches are applied to future-proof healthcare and promote health and well-being. 

Contact

For more information or if you're interested in participating, please contact one of our innovation managers.