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26/02/2024 - Institutional news

The Hospital del Mar Research Institute represents the State in the PROSPERH project

This is a project funded by the European Union that aims to promote positive physical and mental health in the workplace in a changing environment.

The Hospital del Mar Research Institute leads the PROSPERH project in the State, an initiative financed by EU-Horizon Europe, and formed by an international consortium of 21 partners from 19 countries. They will work together to develop and validate a multilevel intervention, aimed at work organizational aspects, individuals and their peers, the workers. It has three components focused on health promotion, self-management and online self-management, and indication of appropriate clinical care referral pathways.

This project, started last January and lasting five years, is based on existing knowledge and tools developed by the consortium in previous projects, also with European funding (MENTUPP and iFightDepression). It will focus on three sectors that are experiencing significant changes and challenges in physical and mental health, teleworking and mobile work based on information and communication technologies (TIC), health and construction.

The Spanish participation in the project is led by Dr. Daniel Guinart, associate physician in the Psychiatry Service at Hospital del Mar and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Molecular Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell, in New York. It notes that “given the frequency of mental and physical disorders in the work environment, early detection and intervention are essential. In addition, by openly addressing and supporting employees with health problems, workplaces contribute to reducing stigma associated with mental and physical health problems, creating an environment where employees feel comfortable seeking help and sharing their difficulties”. The Occupational Health Service and the Pain Unit of the Anesthesiology Service of the Hospital del Mar also participate in the project.

Jobs have seen rapid change in recent years, driven by the digital and green transitions and the COVID-19 pandemic. New ways of working and managing work environments have emerged, which can affect workers' physical and mental health in new ways, both positive and negative. Workplaces can be health-promoting environments, but how this can be achieved in practice needs to be explored.

To transform workplaces into health-promoting environments, companies and workers need tools and resources that improve awareness, promote physical and mental health, support self-management, and indicate referral pathways. To improve workers' health, policymakers and policymakers need the latest evidence on healthy workplaces and advice on how governments and other actors can create an enabling environment for change. These needs will be met by the PROSPERH project.

Once developed, the intervention will be tested in Albania, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Kosovo, Netherlands, Portugal and Turkey. Key outcomes of the project will include policy guidelines and recommendations, as well as a roadmap to make the PROSPERH Portal freely available to businesses.

Professor Ella Arensman, Head of the School of Public Health, Professor of Public Mental Health, University College Cork and Scientific Director at the National Suicide Research Foundation, who globally leads the initiative, states that “through the EU Horizon Europe - PROSPERH project, we have a unique opportunity to build, based on evidence and interventions developed by the EU Horizon 2020 project MENTUPP, and advance the necessary interventions to improve both mental and physical health of staff in changing work environments. PROSPERH supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: Health and Wellbeing, strengthening the capacity of countries for prevention, early warning and risk reduction of mental and physical health problems.”

Furthermore, Dr Eve Griffin, executive director of the National Suicide Research Foundation, which co-leads the project, says: "The National Suicide Research Foundation is delighted to co-lead this important program of work, which will provide evidence on innovative tools and strategies to "Prosperh represents a dynamic consortium of international researchers, with a significant history of interdisciplinary collaboration, and we look forward to working together over the next five years."

You can learn more about the PROSPERH project, the consortium partners and related research: https://www.prosperh.eu/

Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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