Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes

Focused on empowering individuals and communities through improved access to understandable, actionable health information, World Package 6 (WP6) of the JACARDI initiative brings together leading experts in health literacy development. Among these contributors, Distinguished Professor Richard Osborne and Associate Professor Melanie Hawkins, from La Trobe University, play an influential role in shaping the design, implementation, and evaluation of health literacy interventions across Europe.

WP6 aims to enhance health literacy and reduce inequalities by ensuring that people, especially those most vulnerable, can access, understand, appraise, remember, and use health information to make informed decisions about their health. This includes improving awareness of cardiovascular disease and diabetes management risks, supporting early detection, and strengthening self-management skills.

The work package spans 24 pilot projects across 13 countries: each tailored to local needs and contexts. These pilots are grounded in evidence-based frameworks, including the WHO Health Literacy Development approach and most using the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process; an approach cocreated and internationally championed by Professor Osborne and Associate Professor Hawkins.

Professor Osborne, a globally recognised leader in health literacy research, and Associate Professor Hawkins, an expert in codesign and health literacy implementation, bring deep methodological and practical expertise to WP6. Their work is closely aligned with the core activities of the work package, which include:

• Mapping existing health literacy initiatives across EU countries
• Identifying gaps and opportunities for targeted interventions
• Codesigning health literacy tools and strategies using the Ophelia process
• Training pilot teams to implement context specific health literacy actions
• Supporting evaluation and scaleup planning across diverse settings

The Ophelia approach—central to WP6—emphasises equity, local relevance, and community engagement. Osborne and Hawkins have been instrumental in developing and disseminating this methodology globally, making their involvement in JACARDI both natural and highly valuable.

Driving Co-design and Capacity Building Across Europe

A key component of WP6 is the codesign of health literacy interventions that reflect the lived experiences, strengths, and needs of local communities. Osborne and Hawkins contribute to:

• Training and capacity building for pilot project teams
• Guiding the codesign process to ensure interventions are culturally and contextually appropriate
• Supporting pretesting and refinement of health literacy tools
• Ensuring alignment with international best practice in health literacy development

Their involvement helps ensure that each pilot project is not only evidence informed but also community driven—maximising the likelihood of sustainable impact.

WP6 culminates in the development of a roadmap for scaling successful health literacy interventions across local, regional, national, and EU wide levels. Osborne and Hawkins’ expertise in implementation research and scaleup frameworks supports this process, helping to translate pilot learnings into actionable, scalable strategies.