Val di Sole: a “health friendly” area

Mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes: Val di Sole is a territory to be explored. Extending across over 40 km in northwestern Trentino, the valley is nestled to the south by the Adamello Brenta Nature Park and to the north by the Stelvio National Park. And precisely because of this protected natural vocation, it has been classified as an “area of interest,” the second, after Tesino, in the Province of Trento, by the “National Strategy of Inland Areas” initiative, which aims to develop the most peripheral communities in order to bring health care closer to residents and provide them with useful innovative tools to support them in the management of their health.

But what is a territorial laboratory?

“Living Health” is an initiative that focuses, with the key support of technologies, on three areas of action:

1. online access to health services;
2. promotion of health and healthy lifestyles;
3. First appointment, treatment and care.

With what goals?

• To provide all citizens with a “health toolbox“:

– first and foremost TreC+ (portal and App), which allows access to the Electronic Health Records (Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico (FSE), health documents (reports, prescriptions, vaccinations, etc.), to schedule visits and exams, view appointments and access many other APSS online services, such as changing one’s primary care doctor, the possibility of delegating a trusted person to access one’s TreC+, and the payment of co-payments;

– another important online service is the TreC Mamma App to support women (enrolled in the Trentino healthcare system) during pregnancy;

– in addition, there is primary prevention, with the promotion of correct lifestyles: through the Health+ App (a tool to “take care” of one’s well-being, acting especially on risk factors that can be worked on, with particular reference to diet and physical activity) the organizations and associations active in locally can be involved and promoted. With their help, outdoor walks can be created, for example, which, included in the App as geolocated “health trails,” encourage physical activity, provide important information on how to stay healthy, and allow residents and visitors to discover lesser-known areas in the Valley.

• A further goal of the territorial laboratory concerns the development of new models of care to help chronic patients and their families in the management and monitoring of their condition with nursing and technology support.

The initiatives already started in December, with two meetings, November, Monday 11 and November, Wednesday 13, in Malè and Pellizzano, during which the TS4.0 team shared the operational plan of the territorial laboratory “Vivere la salute in Val di Sole”. At the events, administrators and association representatives showed great interest, particularly in the social and personal involvement aspects present in the Salute+ App.

For the development of the project in Val di Sole, in addition to the well-established group of APSS and the PAT Health Department representatives, three dedicated project managers are active: Renato Carolli, Sergio Zanella, and Martina Dell’Eva.  They have jointly announced the opening of branches in the area to support the population and associations to make the most of the use of these digital tools, and laid the groundwork for future collaborations to benefit not only the well-being of individual citizens, but the entire community.

Meetings with communities and local information points will go on in 2024, in order to promote a virtuous circle that starts from individual health promotion and local entities, enhancing locaal specificities.

In fact, talking about health increasingly means touching on issues of environmental sustainability, enhancement of local identity and tradition.