ELFI Health (e-Health for Empowerment, Lifestyle & Food advice, Interactions)
In the ELFI Health project the consortium of Roche Diagnostics, World Data Exchange, a practice of a general practitioner in Den Haag and TNO, together with a dietician and Vivica Health, worked together to test a digitally supported intervention to empower people to prevent their onset of type 2 diabetes.
In The Netherlands about 1,2 million people are living with type 2 diabetes. Around the same number of people live with prediabetes, which is the early stage of diabetes (Diabetes in cijfers (diabetesfonds.nl). In this early onset of type 2 diabetes, cure is still possible when people change their lifestyle. Critical in lifestyle change is the empowerment of people to steer their own health, learn new habits and maintain this new lifestyle. This will result in improved individual well-being and the quality of life of a person with prediabetes. It will also reduce the development of co-morbidities and lower societal costs. To make this a reality, the threshold for participation in lifestyle-change programs should be lowered and effectiveness enhanced.
In the ELFI Health project, people with prediabetes were identified by their general practitioner (GP) and invited to come to a measurement and information session. A novel point-of-care tool was used to measure relevant parameters for prediabetes (HbA1c and lipid profile). Of the eligible subjects willing to participate, data were paired with existing medical information and translated into a personalized nutrition and lifestyle intervention. An online platform supported study participants and the participating health care providers. Information sessions by the health care professional helped to inform the participants about health and lifestyle. We also investigated whether this lifestyle intervention method was appreciated by participants and effective to motivate participants in adapting towards a healthier lifestyle.
The main goal of the project was to do a pilot examine whether our straightforward, digitally supported intervention was sufficient to empower people to adapt to a healthier lifestyle to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. The outcomes of the small feasibility study (N=10) showed promising results of the ELFI Health intervention and health improvement of the target group. The combination of personal advice, novel diagnostics and a digital intervention are important and powerful factors for an intervention that can support both GP’s and persons with prediabetes. Based on the outcomes and experiences a larger follow-up project will be designed.
