7.K. Workshop: Best Practice Portals: what is needed for health promotion interventions
Authors:   Organised by: BZgA - Federal Centre for Health Education (Germany), National Institute of Public Health (Slovenia), French National Public Health Agency (France), RIVM (The Netherlands), EuroHealthNet,   Chair persons: Caroline Costongs (EuroHealthNet)
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Best practice portals include public health interventions and aim to promote health and improve health outcomes, not only to support professionals but also policymakers with evidence-based information. These portals, which have been developed for several years in North America and in some European countries and whose added value is undisputed, are only useful if the interventions they contain are also used by professionals and policymakers. Therefor the portals must address the needs of the professionals and policymakers. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia are working closely together in the Technical Working Group (TWIG) at EuroHealthNet to assess and learn from joint and independent approaches in development and management of Best Practice Portals as well as implementation of good and best practices. Several questions are the result of the debate within this working group: Should interventions be developed from science or rather from practice? Both starting points are important, but what criteria should be taken into account when developing, assessing and selecting interventions? And whether and how these criteria should be weighted. In addition to the evaluation criteria themselves, it is also important to gain insight into how evaluators understand the criteria and methodology, and wether they are properly used when assessing interventions. Experience in the countries has shown that the provision of interventions in a portal alone, no matter how searchable and combinable, is not sufficient to select the right intervention and successfully transfer and implement it in another context. A range of other support is needed, ideally provided through the Best Practice Portal itself. This can be provided by the so-called ‘What Works’ but also the support for the implementation and adaptation of the good and best practices of the portal.

Objective
The aim of the workshop is to share the approaches and experiences with the Best Practice Portals and to discuss with the workshop participants the possible next steps for the further development of the portals themselves and the support strategies.

Methods
After the introduction, the workshop starts with four very short presentations to illustrate the different elements that are important for a Best Practice Portal.

Discussion with the open space method
In each of the four corners of a room there will be a flipchart with a moderator. Each participant is welcome to choose one of the flipcharts and discuss with the other participants one of the topics presented in the short presentations.

Conclusions
Every moderator will present one main takeaway message which reflects the discussion.

Key messages
• Best practice portals include public health interventions and aim to promote health and improve health outcomes.
• Several elements are important for the successful use of the Best Practice Portals.