Prevention and empowerment
Our goal is to increase the accessibility, effectiveness and feasibility of prevention in care and well-being. We do this by ...
Project
CLEAR-PC
Cancer Literacy Education and Awareness Resources for Prostate Care
CLEAR-PC aims to increase (digital) literacy around prostate cancer prevention and care. Currently, this literacy is low, which makes it difficult for patients to engage in shared decision-making with their doctor. However, the CLEAR-PC project focuses on involving patients, healthcare professionals, vulnerable groups and policymakers, thereby maximising its impact. In addition, increasing digital literacy reduces inequalities in prostate cancer care, an important focus area within the EU4Health programme.
What is this project about?
The CLEAR-PC project focuses on an important problem: many people find it hard to understand health information about prostate cancer. This is called low health literacy. When people don’t understand medical information well, it is harder for them to know what is happening, to decide together with their doctor, and this can increase unfair differences in health between people.
Prostate cancer is common and the information about it can be complex. That’s why this project wants to create a clear plan to help people better understand how to prevent prostate cancer and how to deal with it when they are sick. We look at what people can understand, how healthcare professionals (like doctors and nurses) explain things, how healthcare organisations work, and how culture and society influence what people know.
How shall we proceed?
To build this plan, we use two approaches: action research and co-creation. Action research means we study real situations and improve things step by step. Co-creation means we work together with everyone involved: people from the general population, vulnerable groups, patients, health professionals, policy makers and others. This helps us make a plan that is focused on the users, possible to use in real life, and really fits their needs.
We follow three main steps:
- First, we try to understand the problem by looking at people’s situations, healthcare professionals, organisations and the social context.
- Next, we take existing tools that help people understand health information and adapt them to prostate cancer prevention and care. Then we test if they are easy to use and acceptable.
- Finally, we see how the plan works in practice and think about what can be improved.
Co-creation is used in every step, so stakeholders help to describe the problems, think of solutions and improve them.
What is the goal?
The main goals are:
- to reduce health inequalities between people,
- to combat misinformation about prostate cancer,
- to help people make better and more informed decisions about preventing and treating prostate cancer.
The project team includes partners from Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Cyprus. They bring different kinds of expertise. Together, they will create digital tools (like websites or apps), non-digital tools (like printed materials) and educational resources.
What is the relevance?
Health literacy means how well people can find, understand, judge, and use health information to make decisions about their health. It depends on personal skills, how clearly professionals communicate, and the social or cultural environment people live in. Good health literacy is important for everyone, but many Europeans struggle with it. Almost half of adults in Europe have trouble understanding health information, especially online, which increases the risk of misinformation. People with low health literacy - such as those with low income, low education, disabilities, or a migrant background - are more likely to have worse health outcomes. This project focuses on digital and non-digital health literacy ((d)HL) because health information is increasingly available online, and people need digital skills to use it.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is a good example of where strong health literacy is essential. It is one of the most common cancers in men and involves many difficult decisions. Screening can help detect cancer early, but it also brings risks like false alarms, unnecessary tests, and side effects. Treatment choices - such as surgery, radiotherapy, or active surveillance - each have different benefits and drawbacks. Because of this complexity, doctors strongly recommend shared decision making (SDM), where patients understand their options and choose what fits their values.
However, low (d)HL makes SDM difficult. People with limited understanding may not fully grasp the risks, may be confused by contradictory information, and may feel unable to participate in decisions. This leads to inequality in care and poorer outcomes. Although some projects in Europe focus on improving screening or supporting decision making (e.g., PRAISE-U and 4D PICTURE), none directly address the need to improve (d)HL specifically for prostate cancer. PCa requires clear, tailored information - not a “one-size-fits-all” approach - because the disease and its treatments are highly individual. Therefore, a new strategy is needed to help people understand information, navigate digital tools, and participate confidently in decisions about screening, treatment, and palliative care.
Who are our partners?
CLEAR-PC is a prevention project implemented with the support of the EU4Health Programme. The project team includes partners from Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Cyprus:
- UNIVERSIDAD MIGUEL HERNANDEZ DE ELCHE (Coördinator)
- UNIVERSIDAD DE MURCIA
- SERVICIO CANARIO DE LA SALUD
- FUNDACION CANARIA INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACION SANES
- FUNDACION PARA EL FOMENTO EN ASTURIAS DE LA INVE
- CONSEJERIA DE SALUD - PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS
- SERVICIO DE SALUD DEL PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS
- ORDEM DOS PSICOLOGOS PORTUGUESES
- PUCKO OTVORENO UCILISTE CAKOVEC
- THOMAS MORE MECHELEN-ANTWERPEN
- ERASMUS UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM ROTTERDAM
- CSI CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION LTD
- FEFOC (Fundació Privada Jordi Estapé)
- FUNDACION DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA PARA LA GE
- EUROPA UOMO
- SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA DE MEDICINA DE FAMILIA Y COMU
- FUNDACION PARA EL FOMENTO DE LA INVESTIGACION SA
Researchers
Researcher
Marlon van Loo
Marlon Van Loo (MSc) is a researcher in the People and Well-being Research Group, research line Prevention and empowerment.
Research line coordinator - Researcher
Wessel van de Veerdonk
Wessel van de Veerdonk (PhD) is research coordinator for Prevention and empowerment in the Human and Welfare Research Group. His research focus is currently on optimal preventive health care specifically for people with reduced access.
Research manager
Tim Vanhoomissen
Tim Vanhoomissen (Phd) is experienced as a researcher within Social Psychology & Environmental Psychology. He is currently research manager of the People and Well-being Research Group.
Related research lines