Short Abstract

This roundtable explores how citizen science can reconfigure health systems from the ground up, focusing on Eastern Europe. We examine how social networks, behavioral science, and participatory tools can reduce health inequities in overlooked communities.

Description

Major health inequities persist across Europe, particularly in preventing chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular conditions. These disparities are concentrated in the “peripheries”: rural, underserved, and politically marginalized communities often excluded from public health innovation and policymaking.

This roundtable explores how citizen science can reconfigure health systems from the bottom up, enabling inclusive and community-driven models of prevention. Drawing on four EU-funded projects: 4P-CAN, PERFECTO, CURTAIN, and ECHoS we examine how participatory tools can transform knowledge and trust in contexts where conventional strategies often fail. In Romania, the 4P-CAN project established a Living Lab in the commune of Lerești, where local residents co-developed personalized cancer prevention pathways informed by social network analysis and citizen juries. PERFECTO applied systemic thinking to cardiovascular risk, co-designing a personalised communication model with citizens and professionals around familial hypercholesterolemia.

CURTAIN introduces AI-powered health literacy tools and community engagement campaigns to help citizens understand and act on cancer risks at their own pace, in their own language. In parallel, ECHoS established a pan-European network of cancer mission hubs, supporting citizen dialogues and stakeholder engagement on personalized prevention.

The roundtable will explore:

- How social and personal networks shape health behaviors and system entry points

- What counts as “evidence” in participatory public health

- How citizen science can influence policy in contexts of institutional inertia

- What mechanisms support the sustainability of citizen-led health innovation

We foreground Eastern European rural, and underrepresented perspectives to reimagine health as a democratic and shared societal responsibility.