General aim
To iteratively communicate, disseminate and implement, together with the stakeholders, the created knowledge on the maintenance of oral and metabolic health during the first 1000 days of life, through a framework of inclusive digital and non-digital means.
Objectives
Active period
Year 1-8
Inholland, AUAS, UvA-FMG, VU, AUMC, ACTA, UTwente.
GGD, Sarphati Amsterdam, JGZ, SGF, Ivoren Kruis, Municipality of Amsterdam, NIBI, Bètapartners, Voedingscentrum, NJi, NCJ, PHAROS, Food4Smiles, Municipality of Amsterdam, PANEL, Onkolyze, Supabase, NVvK, JTV Amsterdam.
Update (December 2025)
Research and Development
In 2024–2025, WP6 concentrated on gathering insights to support the development of inclusive digital and non-digital communication tools that encourage healthy behaviors in early childhood. Our primary target groups remain parents—particularly those in vulnerable situations—and oral healthcare professionals.
The PhD research within WP6 began with a scoping review that explored existing lifestyle interventions, focusing on their characteristics and effectiveness, and comparing outcomes between the general population and individuals with a low socioeconomic position (SEP). The current research included an interview study aimed at understanding experiences and lived realities related to healthy lifestyles, as well as the role of professionals in supporting families. These interviews are conducted with families, healthcare professionals, community workers, municipal employees, and representatives from insurance companies. This broader approach is designed to map the interconnected network and identify leverage points and opportunities for strategies that align with people’s lived realities.
Several Bachelor’s and Master’s students from Inholland and the University of Twente contributed to studies on:
In 2025, WP6 also became actively involved in the Voed Ze Goed project, developed in collaboration with WP2. This initiative supports primary schools in making informed decisions about healthy food offerings based on contextual needs. WP6 contributes by evaluating digital nutrition education tools and behavioral design strategies for implementation. Voed Ze Goed is a partnership between Inholland domains AFL, O&I, and GSW, the Dutch Nutrition Centre (Voedingscentrum), and GGD Haaglanden. The project runs from January 2025 to June 2026, with student involvement already underway.
Following successful matchmaking, a collaboration with Technasium was established. The first student project is now running, focusing on raising awareness among high school students and parents about oral health.
Additionally, WP6 has initiated the design of an internal digital platform to enhance collaboration and knowledge exchange between work packages and to gather input for developing digital and non-digital communication tools tailored to different target groups.
Dissemination of Results
Collaboration Across Work Packages
Inter-WP collaboration has intensified, particularly with WP1, WP2, and WP3. WP6 works closely with WP1 on the Oral Health minor, focusing on the Zaandam Oost region with student involvement. It aligns with WP2 on projects such as Voed Ze Goed and collaborates with WP3 using their developed personas and behavioral design for developing digital agent-based models.
Research and Development
A key milestone is the completion of a scoping review on eHealth interventions for young children, now available as a preprint.
New research at Inholland focused on how early-career oral health professionals perceive their preventive role, resulting in three completed focus groups.
In addition, the PhD research within WP6 is currently progressing with a stakeholder study, aimed at gaining deeper insight into perspectives and needs across the network.
Two Technasium pilot projects were initiated, focusing on raising oral health awareness among adolescents and their families.
Dissemination and Education
WP6 has increased its focus on dissemination and impact. A dedicated workshop was organised for MetaHealth PhD candidates, focusing on how to realise societal impact through their research.
The MetaHealth website continues to be actively used as a channel for sharing project insights and outputs.
Challenges and Next Steps
A planned collaboration with Panel B.V. could not proceed due to the company’s closure. Alternative partnerships are currently being explored.
Background: Many unhealthy habits develop in early childhood and can lead to long-term health risks, which disproportionately affect children with low socioeconomic position (SEP). Digital and blended lifestyle interventions can promote healthier lifestyles, yet families with lower SEP remain underrepresented and face unique barriers to healthy behaviors and intervention access. As a result, it remains unclear which intervention characteristics are most effective for these populations.
Objective: This study by Lea Hohendorf and colleagues from WP6 aimed to identify and map digital and blended lifestyle interventions targeting preschool-aged children and explore how intervention characteristics and reported effectiveness patterns differ between interventions for the general population and low SEP families.
Methods: A search across Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ERIC, and ACM Digital Library was conducted. Studies were eligible if they (1) targeted preschool-aged children (6 months to 5 years) or caregivers, (2) evaluated a digital or blended lifestyle intervention, and (3) addressed at least one behavioral domain (nutrition, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, and oral health). Studies focusing on pregnant women, children aged >5 years, or interventions delivered solely nondigitally were excluded. Screening and prioritization were supported by artificial intelligence–assisted software (ASReview; Utrecht University). Data covered intervention targets, populations, theoretical and guideline foundations, delivery modes and settings, and persuasive systems design features. Intervention characteristics and effectiveness categories were synthesized descriptively. The methodological quality of quasi-experimental studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools.
Results: A total of 77 studies describing 54 interventions were included. Of these, 35 targeted the general population, and 19 focused solely on low SEP families. Interventions were similar across groups: typically parent-focused, targeting multiple lifestyle domains, and informed by theories, frameworks, or evidence-based guidelines. Low SEP interventions more often used text messaging, included fewer persuasive design features, and tended toward single delivery channels. Effectiveness findings were mixed; no consistent patterns emerged when interventions were grouped by their characteristics. Among low SEP interventions only, less effective interventions more often targeted multiple behaviors and included more persuasive systems design features.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is one of the first reviews to map digital and blended lifestyle interventions for preschool-aged children while comparing intervention characteristics and descriptive effectiveness patterns across general and low SEP populations. The review highlights heterogeneity in intervention characteristics and outcomes and identifies gaps where evidence is limited. These findings underscore the need to better represent low SEP families in intervention research, strengthen understanding of feasibility and contextual fit, and support multilevel approaches that reflect families’ everyday contexts. However, the findings should be interpreted in light of several limitations, including the exclusion of gray literature, partial double-screening, the possibility that artificial intelligence–assisted prioritization may have omitted relevant studies, and variation in the reporting of intervention components across studies.
Source: DALL-E (AI-generated image); Copyright: Public Domain; License: Public Domain (CC0)
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