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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

GR1_2_3: Symposium: EnRICH HABITS: a data-enabled community-based citizen science approach to enhance physical activity and nutrition
Location: Glass room 1
Session Chair: Johan de Jong

Presentation 1

EnRICH HABITS: a data-enabled community-based citizen science approach to enhance physical activity and nutrition

Chair(s): Johan de Jong (Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, The)

Background and aim:

Unhealthy diets and low physical activity raise the risk of physical and mental health problems, yet lasting lifestyle change is hard to achieve through individual interventions alone. Since habits are shaped by social and physical environments—and health inequalities persist—broader community‑focused approaches are needed. EnRICH‑HABITS applies a socioecological perspective to improve eating and activity behaviors in communities. Working in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Latvia, the project targets high‑risk groups, creating context‑specific insights while enabling cross‑national comparison through aligned data, cocreation, and monitoring.

Summary of Contributions:

This symposium contains four presentations highlighting the diverse scientific approaches within EnRICH‑HABITS, with examples from each participating country. Large epidemiological cohorts are used to identify risk profiles and communities where unhealthy behaviors cluster (presentation 1). Community‑based methods and citizen science then enrich these insights, enabling stakeholders and residents to co‑create solutions that raise lifestyle awareness and strengthen support from public and private actors (presentations 2 & 3). Citizens collect spatial data, and both quantitative and qualitative findings inform locally relevant interventions. Meanwhile, the entire citizen‑science process—from engagement to cocreation—is systematically evaluated using a dedicated monitoring framework (presentation 4).

Added Value:

EnRICH-HABITS aims to clarify how change happens in communitiesand identify factors that enable community empowerment. These insights will inform general policy recommendations and guiding principles applicable across different European settings.

Conclusion and Key Take-Home Messages: We will demonstrate the value and challenges of applying diverse scientific methods across four countries to generate relevant knowledge for research and practice.

Symposium presentations and presenters:

Age-Specific Predictors of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Duration: A Machine-Learning Analysis from the Lifelines Cohort (Erja Portegijs)
Neighbourhood detectives for Healthy Lifestyle (Amy Jeschke)
Co-creating healthier places in Latvia: A case study of citizen science approach for urban and rural communities (Didzis Rozenbergs)
A Theory-Integrated Process Evaluation Framework for a Citizen Science Intervention Targeting Physical Activity and Nutrition (Paolo Caserotti)

Funding Source:

The EnRICH-HABITS project received funding from ZonMw, Innovation Fund Denmark, Latvian Council of Science under the umbrella of the Partnership Fostering a European Research Area for Health (ERA4Health) (GA N° 101095426 of the EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme).

Presentations of the Symposium

Age-Specific Predictors of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Duration: A Data-Driven Approach from the Lifelines Cohort

Andréia Abud da Silva Costa¹; Eva Corpeleijn²; Daniel Lyngø Dam³; Claudine Lamoth¹; Erja Portegijs¹
1: University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Human Movement Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands; 2: University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Epidemiology, Groningen, the Netherlands; 3: University of Southern Denmark, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics Research Unit of Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics, Odense, Denmark

Background:

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity duration (MVPAd) is a key indicator of a healthy lifestyle, but its determinants vary across life stages.

Methods:

We identified key predictors of MVPAd across age groups using data from the Lifelines cohort (n=121,213). The analysis included 25 variables spanning health (n=4), sociodemographic (n=7), psychosocial (n=6), lifestyle (n=7), and nutritional (n=1) domains. Participants were divided into three age groups: 18–44 (n=59,071), 45–64 (n=52,890), and 65+ (n=9,252). We developed predictive models using Light Gradient Boosting Machine. Hyperparameter tuning was performed separately within age groups using 5-fold cross-validation. Model performance was assessed via RMSE and R² values. Predictors important to models were selected based on cumulative SHAP values, retaining variables that accounted for at least 80% of total importance.

Preliminary results:

Model performance was modest across all age groups: 18–44 (R²=0.139, RMSE=624.7), 45–64 (R²=0.114, RMSE=580.8), and 65+ (R²=0.123, RMSE=370.7). SHAP values ranged from 5.4 to 88.9. The 80% threshold identified 8, 9, and 10 predictors across the three age groups. Seven predictors were consistently identified across all groups: gender, sleep duration, nutrition, well-being, association membership, recent social contacts, and cholesterol ratio [SHAP 5.5–72.2]. For adults aged 18–44 and 45-64, MVPAd was additionally associated with educational level, working hours, and income [SHAP 50.2-88.9 and 31.3-54.6, rerspectively]. For adults aged 65+, BMI, chronic stress, and alcohol consumption were also important predictors of MVPAd [SHAP 5.4-22.3].

Conclusion:

Although the models exhibited modest predictive performance, these preliminary findings highlight shared and age-specific determinants of MVPAd.

Keywords:

Lifestyle, determinants, lifespan, physical activity.

Neighborhood Detectives in Action: Lessons Learned in the Groningen Case Study

Amy Jeschke; Berry van Holland; Johan de Jong
Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Centre of Expertise Healthy Ageing, Groningen, the Netherlands

Purpose:

To outline key practice insights from the Groningen case study, an applied example of community-embedded citizen science within the international project EnRICH-HABITS. The initiative engaged local residents as “Neighbourhood Detectives” who used photovoice to document and map their lived environments as a basis for co-creating improvement ideas for health-enhancing physical activity and wellbeing. The primary aim is to share practical lessons on connecting research processes with community priorities and the realities of local engagement.

Methods:

The project involved the collaborative development and implementation of participatory research activities in a neighbourhood setting. We partnered with existing community initiatives and networks, negotiated expectations with stakeholders, and adapted recruitment strategies to engage “hard-to-reach” participants. Evaluation encompassed reflection on engagement processes and on challenges that arose from balancing research objectives with building trust and meaningful relationships in the community. Dissemination strategies included sharing findings with residents, local partners, and project teams across contexts to inform iterative improvements.

Results:

Engagement efforts revealed the importance of aligning research aims with community agendas and the value of flexibility in practice. Key enablers included locally trusted partners and adaptive methods that responded to participant priorities, while barriers emerged in balancing methodological rigour with relationship building. Recruitment of diverse participants required sustained outreach and trust-building.

Conclusions:

Embedding research within local contexts promotes meaningful engagement but necessitates ongoing adaptation. Lessons learned highlight strategies for strengthening practice-community linkages and offer transferable insights for similar community-based health promotion efforts.

Keywords:

Citizen science; participatory photovoice; community engagement; practice implementation; health-enhancing environments.

Cocreating healthier places in Latvia: A case study of citizen science approach for urban and rural communities

Didzis Rozenbergs¹; Aija Ozola²; Laura Bužinska¹; Signe Tomsone¹
1: Riga Stradins University, Department of Rehabilitation, Riga, Latvia; 2: Riga Stradins University, Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry, Riga, Latvia

Background:

High rates of non‑communicable diseases, premature mortality, and disability pose major public health challenges in Latvia. Citizen science offers a promising new approach. This case study tests a community‑based cocreation process to develop locally tailored solutions for improving physical activity and nutrition environments in urban and rural areas.

Methods:
A community-based citizen science approach is implemented in one urban and one rural neighbourhood in Latvia. Adult community members are recruited through local gatekeepers, posters in community centres, public meetings and snowball sampling. Researcher facilitated community meetings will provide participant training in data collection and collaborative data analysis using guided group discussions. Data collection combines participant led community walks with independent exploration and group workshops as well as participants opinions and attendance. Participants use mobile application ‘HealthyHoods’ to document environmental features relevant to physical activity and nutrition. Measures include geolocated photographs, structured in-app ratings, field notes, and qualitative data from guided group discussions. Data analysis integrates descriptive analysis of app-based quantitative indicators with thematic analysis of workshop discussions.

Results:

The ongoing study is expected to generate community relevant‑ data and cocreated, ‑context specific‑ proposals for improving physical activities and nutrition related supportive environments as well as data regarding feasibility of citizen science approach for public health.

Conclusions:

Although citizen science remains underutilised in Latvia’s health context, methodological insights into the use of this approach to influence health habits could provide potential solutions to address public health problems.

Keywords:

Citizen science, physical activity promotion, nutrition environment, community cocreation.

A Theory-Integrated Process Evaluation Framework for a Citizen Science Intervention Targeting Physical Activity and Nutrition (EnRICH-HABITS)

Paolo Caserotti¹; Nicole Blackburn²; Daniel Lyngø Dam¹
1: University of Southern Denmark, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics Research Unit of Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics, Odense, Denmark; 2: University of Ulster, Centre for Health and Rehabilitation Technologies, Institute of Nursing and Health Research, School of Health Sciences, Ulster, United Kingdom

Background:
Citizen science (CS) is increasingly applied in behavioral science and public health to enhance contextual relevance, participant engagement, and intervention tailoring. In the physical activity (PA) and nutrition domains, CS approaches may strengthen ecological validity and long-term sustainability. However, limited methodological guidance exists on how to evaluate implementation processes and underlying behavioral mechanisms in CS interventions. Challenges related to representativeness, contextual variability, and implementation fidelity may compromise both internal and external validity if not rigorously examined.

Purpose:
This study presents the development of a theory-integrated process evaluation framework for the EnRICH-HABITS citizen science intervention targeting PA and nutrition behaviors among community-dwelling adults.

Methods:
An iterative co-development process involving researchers and stakeholders (brainstorming sessions, roundtables, and plenary discussions) was conducted to identify critical intervention phases. The framework integrates the Medical Research Council guidance for complex interventions, the Context and Implementation of Complex Interventions (CICI) framework, and the COM-B model to assess implementation processes, contextual determinants, and hypothesized behavioral pathways.

Results:
Six critical CS phases were identified: pre-recruitment, recruitment, onboarding, data collection, solution generation, and external validity. A mixed-methods assesses reach, fidelity, adaptations, dose delivered and received, and contextual facilitators and barriers influencing PA and nutrition behaviors. Short-term behavioral mechanisms are examined through domain-specific self-efficacy measures (PA and nutrition) and a community empowerment questionnaire.

Conclusions:
This framework advances methodological rigor in citizen science by systematically linking implementation processes to behavioral mechanisms. It provides a scalable model for evaluating co-created health promotion interventions in real-world settings.

Keywords:

Process evaluation, citizen science, framework.