About the Project
SMARTHEALTH: Smart Health Literacy – Implementing Advanced Text Mining and Data Science for Enhanced Public Health Services
Coordinated by NOVA IMS, the SMARTHEALTH project pioneers the development of the first validated Portuguese algorithm to assess health literacy and psychological states through advanced natural language processing and machine learning. In partnership with the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health (DGS), the project aims to transform citizen engagement in public health by providing intelligent tools to enhance communication and improve the quality of services on digital health platforms.
Grounded in behavioral sciences and driven by Large Language Models (LLMs) and Automated Machine Learning (AutoML), SMARTHEALTH seeks to automate the analysis of digital interactions between citizens and health services (e.g., SNS24), enabling tailored communication, risk scoring, and evidence-based health promotion strategies.
Through a multi-phase approach—ranging from data collection, expert validation, crowdsourcing, algorithm development, and pilot implementation—the project delivers a scalable, context-aware system that enhances institutional responsiveness, promotes health equity, and contributes to the modernization of digital public health services in Portugal.
As part of its implementation, the project will:
- Analyze interactions between citizens and DGS services using LLM and text mining to classify content across dimensions like motivation, health, risk, and vulnerability.
- Develop and validate a health literacy algorithm using a mix of qualitative interviews, crowdsourced national datasets, and expert validation.
- Integrate the final Smart Health algorithm into DGS digital platforms for pilot testing and refinement.
- Deliver public health risk scores and behavioral pattern analyses to support targeted, data-driven interventions.
- Disseminate findings through academic publications, a policy brief, international conferences, and a final “Smart Health and Literacy” workshop open to stakeholders and the public.
