Background: Contextual variables that capture the characteristics of delimited geographic or jurisdictional areas are vital for health and social research. However, obtaining data sets with contextual-level data can be challenging in the absence of monitoring systems or public census data. Objective: We describe and implement an 8-step method that combines web scraping, text mining, and spatial overlay analysis (WeTMS) to transform extensive text data from government websites into analyzable data sets containing contextual data for jurisdictional areas. Methods: This tutorial describes the method and provides resources for its application by health and social researchers. We used this method to create data sets of health assets aimed at enhancing older adults’ social connections (eg, activities and resources such as walking groups and senior clubs) across the 374 health jurisdictions in Catalonia from 2015 to 2022. These assets are registered on a web-based government platform by local stakeholders from various health and nonhealth organizations as part of a national public health program. Steps 1 to 3 involved defining the variables of interest, identifying data sources, and using Python to extract information from 50,000 websites linked to the platform. Steps 4 to 6 comprised preprocessing the scraped text, defining new variables to classify health assets based on social connection constructs, analyzing word frequencies in titles and descriptions of the assets, creating topic-specific dictionaries, implementing a rule-based classifier in R, and verifying the results. Steps 7 and 8 integrate the spatial overlay analysis to determine the geographic location of each asset. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the data sets to report the characteristics of the assets identified and the patterns of asset registrations across areas. Results: We identified and extracted data from 17,305 websites describing health assets. The titles and descriptions of the activities and resources contained 12,560 and 7301 unique words, respectively. After applying our classifier and spatial analysis algorithm, we generated 2 data sets containing 9546 health assets (5022 activities and 4524 resources) with the potential to enhance social connections among older adults. Stakeholders from 318 health jurisdictions registered identified assets on the platform between July 2015 and December 2022. The agreement rate between the classification algorithm and verified data sets ranged from 62.02% to 99.47% across variables. Leisure and skill development activities were the most prevalent (1844/5022, 36.72%). Leisure and cultural associations, such as social clubs for older adults, were the most common resources (878/4524, 19.41%). Health asset registration varied across areas, ranging between 0 and 263 activities and 0 and 265 resources. Conclusions: The sequential use of WeTMS offers a robust method for generating data sets containing contextual-level variables from internet text data. This study can guide health and social researchers in efficiently generating ready-to-analyze data sets containing contextual variables.

In adults, as little as 10 minutes of moderate physical activity (PA) three times a day can help prevent non-communicable diseases and prolong life expectancy. The aim of the study was to evaluate the process and impact of scaling up a complex intervention (PAFES) implemented in Catalonia, aimed to increase the proportion of adults complying with PA recommendations (especially those with cardiovascular risk factors). The intervention, piloted in 2005, had three elements: 1) establishing clinical guidelines for PA; 2) identifying local PA resources; 3) PA screening and advice in primary health care (PHC) settings, based on stage of change. Central and local level implementation activities included training, support to municipalities, dissemination through a web page, and promotion of World Physical Activity Day (WPAD). Evaluation followed the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance), identifying 3-6 variables for annual evaluation of each dimension. These included coverage of PA screening and advice and individuals with access to a healthy exercise route (Reach), increased PA level between 2006 and 2010-15 (Effectiveness), PAFES adoption by PHC centres and municipalities (Adoption), process evaluation data (Implementation), and cost (Maintenance). PHC screening coverage increased from 14.4% (2008) to 69.6% (2015) and advice coverage from 8.3% (2012) to 35.6% (2015). In 2015, 82.5% patients had access to a “healthy route” (Reach). The proportion of patients with at least one cardiovascular risk factor who were “sufficiently active” increased from 2006 to 2010-2013 (Effectiveness). By 2015, PAFES was applied by all PHC teams, 8.3% municipalities and 22.7% PHC centres had organized WPAD events (Adoption). The Plan showed good penetration in all health regions by 2013, with relatively low use of resources and estimated cost (Implementation). By 2013 the Plan was embedded within the health system (Maintenance). In the first application of the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the scaling-up of a PA plan, PAFES showed good results for most RE-AIM indicators. Changes in priority and investment in health promotion programs affect reach, adoption, and effectiveness. It is important to maintain support until programs are strongly embedded into the health system.

Introduction: The Interdepartamental Public Health Plan of Catalonia (2014) seeks to enforce Health in All Policies (HiAP) at the regional and local levels. Within this context, the City Council of Sant Andreu de la Barca (SAB), the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB), and the Public Health Agency of Catalonia started a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of an urbanistic redesign of the Llobregat fluvial area in SAB, the results of which are presented in this paper. Methodology: In 2018, after a HIA screening, a prospective nonquantitative HIA was conducted. Politicians, professionals, and citizens participated in identifying potential impacts. Impacts were prioritized and linked to health determinants, scientific evidence, and potentially affected social groups. Afterwards, recommendations were formulated in order to improve the health impacts of the project. Finally, indicators were selected to evaluate HIA implementation. Results: The HIA was successfully implemented with the participation of technicians and citizens of SAB. The health impacts identified were mainly related to environmental, public safety, lifestyle, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Ten recommendations were defined to minimize the potential negative health impacts of the project, with six of them directly included and only one dismissed due to incompatibility. Conclusion: A HIA was successfully carried out in the medium-sized town of Catalonia, promoting Health in all Policies at a local level and improving health impacts of an urbanistic project.

Health depends mostly on factors that lay outside the health system, such as socioeconomic determinants. Intersectorality and participation are key elements for an integrated care person and community centred. In Catalonia, the National Primary Health and Community Strategy aims to reinforce primary health care, so that it becomes the backbone of the health system and with a strong community orientation. To deploy a community oriented primary health care it is important to count with reliable and robust data by small areas. Thirty-eight basic indicators were selected for each of the 370 primary health care in Catalonia. Indicators were calculated and presented following the social determinants model: demographic (4), socioeconomic (3), morbidity (9), mortality (6), lifestyles (4), preventive practices (1), resources and use of health services (9) and physical environment (2). These indicators will allow health professionals to carry out local health assessments in a fast and systematic manner.

Background: Physical inactivity is one of the most important risk factors in modern society. Primary Health Care (PHC) interventions have been shown to be effective to increase physical activity (PA). This work evaluates the Catalan Physical Activity, Sport and Health Plan (PAFES). Methods: Nested case–control design with risk-set matching based on a retrospective cohort of 22 450 physically inactive people registered between 2010 and 2018 in the Catalan electronic medical record (EMR). Confounder adjusted conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the probability that participants who had received PA advice became active between 2010 and 2018 compared to those who did not receive it. Results: A lower probability to become active [odds ratio (OR) = 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10–0.13] was found for those people who had received PA advice only once. However, the probability to become active increased for people who had received advice two or more times (two times: OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.32–1.55). A dose–response relationship was observed. Conclusions: This is the first study evaluating a PA promotion real-life intervention in PHC using a large cohort based on data from an EMR with more than 2 years of follow-up.

Objetivo: Este estudio analiza la implementación del mapeo en activos y la prescripción social en Cataluña, identificando factores facilitadores, desafíos y percepciones de impacto en la salud pública. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio de diseño mixto que incluyó un análisis descriptivo de la plataforma Activos y Salud con entrevistas semiestructuradas con 25 actores clave en 11 municipios, analizados mediante metodología cualitativa. Resultados: Entre 2016 y 2021 se registraron 4113 actividades y 4214 recursos en la plataforma Activos y Salud. Se observó disparidad en la cobertura según grupos de edad y provincias, con una representación limitada de actividades para jóvenes. El impacto del COVID-19 afectó significativamente el registro y sostenibilidad de las actividades. Los antecedentes comunitarios, como la existencia de procesos intersectoriales previos, fueron cruciales para el éxito del mapeo y la prescripción social. Las estrategias incluyeron reuniones intersectoriales, uso de herramientas digitales y colaboración con universidades. Los desafíos identificados abarcaron la falta de recursos específicos, las brechas digitales y las dificultades en la actualización continua de activos. La prescripción social se adaptó a las características locales mediante circuitos diferenciados. Los participantes destacaron impactos positivos como la creación de redes comunitarias, reducción del aislamiento y mayor participación social. Conclusiones: La implementación efectiva exige superar barreras, fortalecer capacidades locales, capacitar profesionales, mejorar infraestructura digital y participación comunitaria, incorporando inteligencia artificial y aprendizajes transferibles que orienten la implemen tación en otros contextos.