Smart D8 Launches Heart of our City

  • Research shows 1 in 4 Dublin 8 residents avail of cardiovascular health services & have difficulty taking medication at the correct time.
  • Heart of our City aims to reduce the rate of unplanned cardiovascular hospital admissions by connecting people with a range of resources to support their heart health including social prescribing initiatives.
  • Heart of our City is a Smart D8 pilot project in partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation and Novartis.

Heart of our City – a new pilot project is a population health program focused on improving heart health in Dublin 8 – has been launched today.

Smart D8 conducted local community research earlier this year and heart health was identified as an area of concern for local citizens with 23% of respondents advising they would like more support and information.

The Heart of our City programme is a collaboration by the Irish Heart Foundation, Smart D8 and Novartis. The project is also working with the Dublin 8 community, St James’s Hospital, ExWell Medical and Fatima Groups United.

This pilot project will connect people in Dublin 8 with a range of existing resources to support their cardiovascular health, building on existing social prescribing initiatives in the locality.

The Heart of our City project is aiming to improve heart health that will result in a reduced burden on local health services and reduce unplanned hospitalisations. In addition, the overall health and wellbeing of citizens will improve. The hope is that the model and learnings from this project can also be applied to other chronic diseases in the future.

Commenting on the launch, Dr. Angie Brown, Medical Director with the Irish Heart Foundation, said:

“We are really pleased to have the opportunity to work with Novartis and Smart D8 on this innovative project focused on the local community in Dublin 8. Heart disease and stroke have a devastating impact on families across Ireland and we know that 80% of this is preventable. A key challenge is in empowering people to make the changes they need to lead healthier lives and that is the focus of this project.”

Audrey Derveloy, General Manager Ireland, Novartis Ireland, said:

“Novartis are proud to partner with Smart D8 and the Irish Heart Foundation on this project.  With the healthcare challenges and inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic, it is even more important for organisations to partner on preventive healthcare approaches like Heart of our City. This is a critical time for us to explore how we can pivot away from simply treating disease, to instead collaboration and prevention.

Orla Veale, Project Lead, Smart D8, said:

“Smart D8 is delighted to collaborate with the Irish Heart Foundation and Novartis on the Heart of our City project that is responding directly to the needs of the community. Smart D8 aims to transforms the health and wellbeing of citizens, and this project will make a real impact.”

Find out more about the Heart of our City project at www.irishheart.ie/heartofourcity

Smart D8 Announces First Pilot Call Selections Focused on Population Health & Mental Health

Smart D8 announces first pilot call selections focused on Population Health & Mental Health

Smart D8 is a collaborative initiative to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens in Dublin 8 through innovation.

Bringing together public authorities, academia, healthcare, citizens and industry, Smart D8 applies a people-centred approach, with the engagement and active participation of the local community at its core. In late 2020, the first Smart D8 Community Survey was launched, capturing the needs and priorities of the local community

In response to this survey, our first call for pilots was launched in March 2021 and we are delighted to announce the selected pilots that will be implemented in Autumn 2021.

Category: Population Health 

Heart of our City 

In partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation and Novartis, Heart of our City is a population health program that will focus on heart health in Dublin 8.  This pilot project will connect people in Dublin 8 with a range of resources to support their cardiovascular health, building on existing social prescribing initiatives in the locality.

Social Currency Community Platform  

Civic Dollars is a social currency platform that is used by citizens to improve health through physical activity and also supports connection with their local community.

This pilot will allow people to earn rewards for time spent in local parks and open spaces.

Category: Mental Health

Ways to Wellbeing: Learning from Locals

In partnership with St.Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Ways to Wellbeing is a project that will support students in learning about mental health and wellbeing through engaging with the lives of the older community in Dublin 8.   The project is designed for students of both primary and secondary schools in the locality.

Virtual Reality Meditation Platform 

In partnership with SolasVR,  this project will pilot a Virtual Reality Meditation platform in the community.  SolasVR enables a micro-break to allow the users to create some time and space away from events or situations that are impacting them.

Mental Health Literacy 

The aim of this pilot project is to address the health literacy and digital health literacy challenges faced by adults with mental health needs. The aim of this proposal is to co-design solutions with people engaging in mental health services that will empower them in their treatment and decision-making.

 

Pilot Call 2

Thank you to all the organisations and people who applied for our first pilot call.  The next pilot call will be in November 2021 and the focus categories will be Population Health and Positive & Healthy Ageing. If you have any questions, please email info@smartd8.ie.