Post-COVID Challenges: Introducing euPrevent SOLACE and the Social Rulebook
April 14, 2023

euPrevent just submitted a new project idea to the Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE) programme – euPrevent SOLACE (Social Rulebook for Overcoming Long-term Aftereffects of Covid in the EMR).

As the pandemic winds down, the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion is facing a new health challenge – the Post Covid-19 Condition (PCC). Individuals affected by PCC, a public health problem with high prevalence, experience symptoms that can lead to social exclusion and negatively impact EMR citizens’ daily lives. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to align health-promotion cross-border strategies and ensure equitable opportunities in the face of new health challenges, including PCC. The lack of a coordinated approach, however, exacerbates barriers to accessing information and health resources across the region.

euPrevent SOLACE aims to establish cross-border social rulebooks for PCC following the structure of the European Pillars of Social Rights (EPSR), to harness the knowledge of the EMR’s wide range of stakeholders, who are all impacted. Developing cross-border rulebooks for addressing new EMR health challenges is a pioneering effort and which will serve as a blueprint easy to translate to other health challenges that may arise or already exist in the EMR.

Never before has there been the opportunity to include and highlight the Euroregional aspect from the first moment new diseases like COVID-19 and PCC emerged. The comprehensive approach aligns with the living reality of EMR citizens, with most of them crossing the border regularly and having cross-border social ties. COVID showed the effect of not taking in consideration the cross-border element; what we want to prevent with PCC. By improving the health outcomes of EMR citizens and reducing health disparities, the project will help to alleviate pressure on EMR health systems. As PCC concerns multiple societal spheres, the target group is very broad: EMR citizens and their social networks, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and various organizations within the EMR. By demonstrating a cross-border and intersectoral approach to PCC, the project enables stakeholders to handle future health and wellbeing challenges more effectively. The tailored social rulebooks resulting from the project activities ensures this.

All work packages begin with data collection and capacity building, including network analysis on cross-border mobility of citizens, mapping care-pathways, conducting reviews on guidelines, policies and PCC definitions, a stakeholder analysis and illustrate data on PCC in the Euregional Health Atlas. The project further identifies the EPSR principles affected by PCC and how they need to be addressed & carries out awareness campaigns to destigmatize and increase acceptance for PCC as a disease. This is followed by trainings on positive health, cross-border information management & citizen participation in health policy to increase resilience about PCC and other emerging health challenges. These activities will be flanked by a best-practice exchange, including e-Health apps, guidelines for professionals, and an EMR coordination system on PCC.

We are still open to invite you to join us as an associated partner of the SOLACE project. Anyone interested? Please contact us at: communication@euprevent.eu.