Community-Led Actions to Improve Mental Health, Cardiovascular Health, and Antibiotic Use Focusing on Reducing Overmedication and Enhancing Health Equity Through Participatory Research in Elche, Spain

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating how community-led actions can improve psychological well-being, cardiovascular health, and the rational use of antibiotics to reduce medicalization and ease the burden on primary care services. The study focuses on these three areas due to challenges like high use of anxiety and depression medications, overdiagnosis in cardiovascular risk factors, and the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. It aims to show how integrating community action and attention to social determinants can lead to a more rational health system and better health equity. The study involves a cocreation process where community members, local institutions, and researchers work together to design and implement health-promoting actions. This participatory approach uses advisory and participatory bodies, informational meetings, social media outreach, and inclusive methods to engage vulnerable groups. The cocreation process is voluntary and open to residents and connected individuals in the target district. Data on medication use, health service consultations, and community perceptions will be collected and analyzed over three years. Participants will be involved through population surveys, pharmacy surveys, aggregate health service data, and qualitative methods like focus groups and interviews. The study will measure outcomes such as health-related quality of life, medication consumption, workload in primary care, critical health literacy, social capital, community belonging, and knowledge about antibiotics and cardiovascular risk. The impact of community actions will be assessed using before-and-after comparisons and time-series analyses over a five-year period, with ongoing evaluation of implementation and sustainability.

Cocreating Action to Improve Rationality in the Health System