VulnerABLE: Improving the health of those in isolated and vulnerable situations

Implemented between 2015 and 2017, the project aimed to explore ways to improve the health of people who are living in vulnerable and isolated situations across Europe.

Its focus was on nine specific vulnerable and isolated populations, namely children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds, those living in rural/isolated areas, with physical disabilities or poor mental health, the long-term unemployed, the inactive, those from lower income brackets, the elderly, victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence, the homeless, and prisoners.

Project implementation

Over its two-year lifespan, the ‘VulnerABLE’ project involved:

• Interviews with individuals and organisations working on health inequalities
• Detailed research into the health needs of people in isolated and vulnerable situations, through a face-to-face survey and in-depth focus groups
• Bringing together the leading thinkers in this area and enabling them to contribute to future strategies to prevent isolation and vulnerability
• Training materials and capacity-building workshops for national and regional authorities who are active in delivering healthcare services
• Regular news updates, direct communication with experts and a one-day conference to spread awareness of the project’s findings.

EuroHealthNet was one of the organisations working on VulnerABLE.

More information is available here.