DEAHL-BALTIC: Digital Empowerment for Active Healthy Living in the Baltic Region

The DEAHL-BALTIC consortium includes 13 partners across Europe and is led by Hamburg Ministry of Social Affairs and University College of Northern Denmark. The consortium is organized in such a way that both the entire project and the work packages have an administrative/operational lead and a scientific lead.

Why DEAHL-BALTIC?

Aging populations are placing increasing pressure on healthcare systems across the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). Digital transformation is a key part of the solution, and the EU is strategically supporting this shift. As part of the EU’s Digital Decade, the goal is that by 2030, all EU citizens will have access to their electronic health data.

However, without sufficient digital health literacy (dHL)—the ability to search for, understand, and effectively use electronic health information—health inequalities may widen. This challenge is part of a broader issue affecting public service responsiveness and healthcare quality. While Scandinavian countries generally have high dHL levels, much of the BSR struggles with digital maturity.

Findings from the Horizon Europe project IDEAHL (2022–2024) revealed that healthcare professionals (HPs) and healthcare organizations (HOs) also face gaps in dHL. If properly equipped, they could serve as crucial intermediaries, helping patients—particularly vulnerable citizen groups such as the elderly and refugees—navigate digital health solutions and, in turn, reduce inequalities.

The DEAHL BALTIC initiative brings together key stakeholders from Poland, Latvia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland to address these barriers by:

1. Developing a dHL-Competence Building Package (dHL-CBP) through a co-creative process involving stakeholders and leveraging best practices identified in IDEAHL.
2. Piloting, evaluating, and refining the dHL-CBP to ensure effectiveness.
3. Scaling and transferring the dHL-CBP to benefit citizens across the BSR.

External project partners

The DEAHL-BALTIC consortium brings together key stakeholders from Poland, Latvia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Project objectives

The DEAHL BALTIC aims to bridge gaps, enhance healthcare accessibility, and foster a more equitable digital health landscape across the region by empowering healthcare professionals and organizations with digital health literacy.