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Project

Círculos de Salud are social networks for people with health problems, which offer people the possibility to meet via technological platforms. These platforms support already existing natural networks such as the family, friends or job partners.

The aim is to support people and families with disabilities; in particular people with chronic, rare or degenerative conditions, avoiding isolation, improving their quality of life, and helping them to achieve full integration and the complete development of the kinds of projects vital to everybody. This is achieved in several ways:

• A global community of support is built to allow immediate access to resources and the support of people in a similar situation so as to:
  • Avoid isolation and reduce suffering.
  • Make use of hobbies and leisure to bring together and cement relationships between people with functional diversity, build communities and encourage people to talk openly about their problems.
  • Be aware of the prognosis of their particular disability or the problems related to their situation.
  • Share and compare symptoms and health indicators.
  • Share and compare treatments, prescriptions, rehabilitation treatments, detect possible treatments for their complications and medical alternatives.
• Train suppliers (physicians, chemists, institutions) about the specific problems faced by people with certain illnesses or disabilities. Gain a better understanding of their needs.
• Promote volunteering additional help.
• Influence, as a community, publicity about the problems they face, issues concerning new laws and policy decisions, participative forums to promote research and funds.
• Identify problems and prevention factors, through the analysis of objective data collected systematically through the web.
• Provide information on the impact of the measures adopted for correction or enhancement, as appropriate.

Work plan

The work plan has been divided into 7 work packages (WP), each of them divided into more specifically defined activities.

• WP1 concerns an analysis of expert knowledge about patient's condition led by Guttmann. This work package includes tasks such as a needs analysis and the patient's clinical profile.
• WP2 includes the specifications, architecture and design, led by Barcelona Digital. In this work package the requirements of the advanced, customized and open social network will by specified. In addition, the technical architecture will be specified, for instance the open source tools, data representation, security requirements, confidentiality and mobility.
• WP3 focuses on a usability and accessibility analysis with tasks such as usability and accessibility requirements, interface design and user experience. For this work package Barcelona Digital and Guttmann are joined by Userlab team of la Salle University.
• WP4 is about the social network development. Barcelona Digital participates in this package. The principal task is the adaptation of open source technologies to the requirements of the advanced social network. Moreover, there are tasks for instance the representation of the clinical profile through ontologies and the interaction with other Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Patient Health Records (PHR) which could be useful for data mining.
• WP5 includes the implementation of a proof of concept, testing and validation and both Guttmann and Barcelona Digital participate.
• WP6 is about sustainability, dissemination and commercialization; and both Barcelona Digital and Guttmann participate.
• WP7 is the coordination and management package and is led by the consortium leader, Barcelona Digital. This work package covers the entire project and includes the organization of meetings, coordination between partners and fulfilment of milestones, reports and software.

Project card

• Timetable: from 01/09/2009 to 31/03/2011
• Total cost: 476514 euros
• Funding: 381213 euros
• Instrument: Collaborative project

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