Knowledge Foundation

Evidence briefs for policy (EBPs) are effective tools for delivering research evidence to policymakers and other stakeholders by highlighting high-priority issues, outlining options and considering implementation strategies. However, policymakers' demands for evidence and policy-relevant information across different fields have led to variability in the terminology used to describe EBPs, and the methodological quality of these EBPs remains unclear. This study aims to (1) identify organizations whose definitions of EBPs contain the three key components of problem, options and implementation considerations, (2) assess the methodological quality of EBPs that incorporate these three key components and (3) identify existing evaluation/assessment tools of EBPs. A two-stage documentary analysis approach was used. First, we identified documents that were produced by organizations/institutions to inform policymakers and that contained the three key components (Problem, Options and Implementation considerations). Second, the methodological quality of the documents was assessed from the perspectives of the evidence supply side (that is, evidence synthesis) and the evidence demand side (that is, mapping of and engagement between both policymakers and stakeholders). In 22 organizations, the term policy brief was the most commonly used, accounting for 50% of organizations, while other terms varied. Issue briefs were used by three organizations (13.6%) and evidence briefs were used by two organizations (9.1%). In total, 50 individual documents from nine different organizations were included to evaluate components and methodology. (1) From the supply-side perspective: 17 (34%) documents described the search resources, 10 (20%) documents described evidence certainty and 15 (30%) assessed the methodological quality of the research evidence. (2) From the demand-side perspective: 30 (60%) documents were developed in response to demand-side needs, while 27 (54%) included both stakeholder mapping and engagement. Methodological shortcomings were identified in the EBPs from both the supply-side and demand-side perspectives, highlighting the need to validate and better implement existing tools and to complement existing guidelines.

Purpose: This symposium will present evidence, expertise, and experiences from different European countries on the implementation and effectiveness of Physical Activity Referral Schemes (PARS) and the development of relevant guidelines and implementation standards for physical activity promotion. Description: Promoting physical activity through healthcare professionals is a key strategy for improving population activity levels, as highlighted in the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) and the Physical Activity Strategy for the WHO European Region 2016–2025. PARS are considered a promising approach to integrating physical activity promotion into routine clinical practice. However, although PARS aim to support sustained behaviour change, evidence of their effectiveness remains mixed, probably due to differences in programme content and delivery, as well as the lack of standardised guidelines. This symposium examines five initiatives that address these challenges. Evidence from Belgium and Germany highlights the potential of PARS to promote long-term physical activity improvements, with additional gains in psychosocial determinants such as motivation, self-efficacy, and health competences. In the Netherlands, the launch of an online consultation guideline (“Bewust Bewegen”) enables healthcare professionals to integrate brief, evidence-based physical activity advice into daily practice. Another German initiative focuses on developing practical, interdisciplinary guidelines for the promotion of physical activity in rehabilitation settings, ensuring alignment with real-world clinical needs. Finally, Scotland’s national evaluation of its PARS standards shows high adoption of behaviour change principles, but also identifies barriers to routine data collection that limit robust outcome evaluation. Conclusion: These contributions demonstrate that PARS and related guidelines can effectively support the promotion of physical activity within healthcare systems. However, their long-term success depends on sustained implementation efforts, professional support, and standardised approaches to monitoring and evaluation. By sharing lessons learned across countries, this symposium offers valuable insights into how healthcare systems can better embed physical activity promotion into practice to improve patient outcomes and public health.

Serotonin is one of the crucial neurotransmitters that plays a vital role in human physiology and normally exists in human serum in the 200 nM to 1.1 μM range along with a wide variety of interfering agents. This makes it a quite challenging task to detect serotonin in an efficient, electrochemical way at ambient temperature in a relatively low concentration (nanomolar) of abundance. So, this work is focused on developing an enzyme-less electrochemical sensing platform that can detect serotonin with a very low limit of detection (LOD) in a highly sensitive and selective way. For this purpose, carbon quantum dots (CQDs), one of the advanced carbonaceous materials, were prepared from a natural source (corn seeds) and applied to make a nanocomposite sensing platform with an electrochemically deposited NiWO4 thin film on FTO-coated glass substrate. The prepared materials were thoroughly characterized by using sophisticated instrumentation techniques. The fabricated NiWO4/CQD nanocomposite thin film was then subjected to detailed electrochemical probing toward serotonin sensing. Fascinatingly, the developed sensor prototype yielded an LOD of 134.0 nM without compromising the sensitivity (16.9 μA μM–1 cm–2), which makes it well capable for detecting serotonin that is present in human serum in the nM to μM order.

Abstract This study presents a system designed to enhance disease prediction accuracy by integrating electronic health records (EHR) and wearable device data. EHR provides structured health information, such as hospital visits and diagnostic codes, while wearable devices capture real-time physiological data, like step count, offering insights into behavior patterns and activity levels. Traditionally, these data sources have been studied independently, resulting in limited utilization of their combined potential and inconsistencies in predictions. Our system uses a multimodal approach in which specialized encoders process each data type separately, and integrate extracted features into a shared embedding space. This common embedding is leveraged by large language models (LLMs) to capture meaningful relationships between health records and activity patterns, allowing the system to predict disease risks with increased accuracy and relevance to individual patient characteristics. The system’s risk scores, generated end-to-end, can be further utilized by LLMs to provide personalized recommendations based on individual risk profiles. This multimodal approach not only addresses the challenges of integrating disparate data formats but also provides a holistic view of patient health, identifying subtle trends that may be missed when using EHR or wearable data in isolation. The result is a robust, comprehensive framework for proactive and personalized healthcare.

BACKGROUNDHIV screening strategies in alternative settings, such as emergency departments (EDs), aim to increase diagnosis of occult infections and achieve 95–95–95 targets for 2030.AIMTo assess the effectiveness of an opt-in HIV screening strategy in EDs based on six clinical scenarios from a 2020 Spanish consensus document, while examining patient characteristics and linkage to-care.METHODSThis descriptive, multicentre, retrospective study analysed epidemiological, clinical, and linkage-to-care data of individuals aged ≥ 18 years newly diagnosed with HIV between July 2021 and March 2024 in 17 EDs covering 73% of the population in Catalonia, Spain.RESULTSFrom 23,105 HIV serologies performed, there were 172 new diagnoses (positivity rate: 0.7%). Of these, 88.4% (152/172) were assigned male at birth, had a median age of 39 years (IQR: 30–50), and 47.9% (81/169) were Spanish. Sexual transmission was reported in 75.6% (130/172) of cases, with 55.5% (81/146) heterosexual. Fiebig stage data, available in 78.5% (135/172) of cases, showed 57.8% (78/135) had acute infection. Advanced HIV was found in 24.2% (30/124). Diagnoses related to the six clinical scenarios accounted for 54.6% (94/172) of cases. For all new diagnoses, 82.0% (137/167) were linked to specialised healthcare and started antiretroviral treatment within 9 days (IQR: 4–17), with no significant differences regarding urban/rural hospital coverage areas.CONCLUSIONAn opt-in HIV screening strategy in the ED is feasible and effective, especially in detecting highly transmissible patients with acute infection. However, one in five newly diagnosed individuals remained untreated, highlighting the need for improved linkage to care.

This paper presents a fully automated, open-source workflow for mapping and analysing Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHII) in urban areas. The method integrates freely available Earth Observation datasets, including Landsat imagery and SRTM elevation data, and ensures generalizability across diverse landscapes by analysing homogeneous altitudinal zones. This avoids over- or underestimation of thermal anomalies due to elevation differences. The pipeline requires only a city name and a local folder path as inputs, producing standardized warm-season Land Surface Temperature and SUHII maps in GeoTIFF format with full metadata. Developed in modular R and Python environments, the code supports easy adaptation, dataset integration, and deployment in web or desktop applications. Designed to lower technical barriers, the platform merges technical and experiential knowledge through citizen participation, enabling non-experts to explore urban thermal anomalies and their social and health implications. This approach fosters equitable climate adaptation and environmental justice by making climate-relevant spatial data accessible and actionable for citizens, researchers, and decision-makers. • A bottom-up project born from the encounter between science and activism, to foster knowledge and empower society. • A standardised, automated workflow to map Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity by leveraging globally available open data. • Mid-latitude cities are among the most vulnerable to Surface Urban Heat Island effects.