FRESHAIR4Life focuses on improving adolescent health by reducing exposure to tobacco smoke and air pollution. In Greece, Romania, Uganda, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan, the consortium is working to apply and evaluate interventions aimed at preventing NCDs such as asthma and COPD. Running from 2023 to 2027, the project builds on more than a decade of experience from earlier FRESH AIR consortia working on air quality and health. As such, it is truly an implementation project. “With this project, we focus not only on what works, but especially on how to translate proven interventions into practice,” explains researcher Jurjen van der Schans.
The FRESHAIR4Life consortium is led by Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and consists of various national organisations, as well as academic and non-academic partners. Within the consortium, the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) leads the work package focused on the economic and societal evaluation of the interventions. “We assess not only the effectiveness, but also the costs, scalability, and wider societal impact of preventive measures,” says Van der Schans. “In global health projects like this, it’s vital to show policymakers which interventions are most valuable and how limited resources can be used most effectively.”
To do so, UMCG researchers use the STAR method (Socio-Technical Allocation of Resources), which enables evidence-based decision-making on value-for-money interventions. This method helps countries not only during the implementation phase but also provides tools for sustainable policy development in the long term.
A key element of the project is that participating countries have a say in which interventions are needed. Based on an ‘intervention palette’ of evidence-based options, each country—together with young people and local stakeholders—selects the approach that best fits their context. Core interventions include “Very Brief Advice” (VBA), a short smoking cessation intervention provided by general practitioners, as well as additional elements such as social media campaigns that promote smoke-free behaviour.
“The VBA intervention has already been implemented in Kyrgyzstan, while in Pakistan the focus is on football clubs where young people are encouraged to develop their own strategies to say ‘no’ to smoking,” Van der Schans explains. “In other countries such as Greece and Romania, preparations for implementation are well underway. In the later stages of the project, the consortium will emphasise education and knowledge sharing—for instance, through a ‘Teach the Teacher’ approach and communication strategies to support the wider dissemination and sustainability of the project’s findings.”
