Dear Tanja, Jeroen, Mai,

Thank you for your message. I am stepping in to provide some additional information on the contribution expected from AUMC, as discussed with Jeroen, who was also able to participate in our consortium meeting last Monday. I am attaching a document that provides a very high-level overview of the proposal, which illustrates where the contribution of Amsterdam UMC is foreseen. This is as leaders of Work Package 3, which is designed to provide the evidence framework around the NCD areas addressed in the project, to support the behavioural interventions that will be implemented in various countries as part of Z-HEALTH.

The project will focus on three key health areas, identified as: obesity and metabolic health; mental health; and addictions (broadly covering, alcohol, tobacco, substance use, gambling, screen addictions etc.). We would expect WP3 to assess trends over time in the above conditions in EU countries, showing how they have grown and changed over time (e.g. transition towards diets increasingly based on industrially processed foods, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, but also increasing incidence of mental health conditions in young people, transition from tobacco to new nicotine products, etc.). We would also expect this work package to explore the changing determinants of the above conditions, with a main focus on behavioural determinants and the environmental exposures that shape young people’s behaviours. I think the research methods that can be employed in WP3 (but I will leave it entirely to you and your team to decide what is most feasible and appropriate) would include a mix of systematic reviews and syntheses, and analyses of secondary data from surveys and cohorts. As I said, any further suggestions from you would be most welcome.

The work package will involve 4 tasks, as agreed at the last consortium meeting, as follows:

Task 3.1: Obesity and metabolic health [lead: AUMC]

Task 3.2: Mental health [NIJZ]

Task 3.3: Addictions [NYU]

Task 3.4: Mapping of behavioural determinants across disease areas [ICL?]

Given the main area of expertise of your team at AUMC, it would seem appropriate for you to lead the first task, but of course if your expertise could extend to the other two areas, we would welcome AUMC’s contributions on mental health and addictions too. In any case you will lead the entire WP, so you will coordinate the work that will be undertaken in the various tasks.

Loredana’s message was about possible (non-staff) costs that you may incur in the project. If you do foresee any such costs, please, do not hesitate to let us know. We will account for standard travel costs and open access publications, so you do not need to worry about those costs.

I will also ask you to complete a work package table and to provide some text for the application by mid-next week. Please, see the attached file (Z-HEALTH_WP leaders contributions…), which contains a template for the WP description that will go in the proposal. I am sure you are familiar with this format from previous EU applications. I have highlighted in yellow the points where we are asking for some text from you. If you feel that you need help from partners leading some of the tasks in your WP, please, do not hesitate to let me know.

Please, let me know if you need additional information on your role or on the wider project.

Franco

Franco Sassi PhD

Chair in International Health Policy and Economics

Director, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Innovation (CHEPI)

Imperial Business School

London SW7 2AZ

United Kingdom

Email: f.sassi@imperial.ac.uk   Tel: +44(0)207 594 9157