health in Switzerland
Sponsorship
The Sanitas health insurance foundation has set itself the goal of promoting the health of people in Switzerland. It does so by supporting selected health promotion and disease prevention initiatives that run on a charitable basis and are accessible to all.
These projects encourage people to take charge of their own health, promote awareness of a healthy lifestyle, and enhance integration in communities and society. The focus is on projects that harness the opportunities of digitalisation and promote the healthy use of digital tools.
- On the physical health side, the foundation gives particular support to innovative preventive approaches.
- On the mental health side, it supports initiatives to improve people’s mental balance and resilience, especially in relation to digital transformation.
- Projects should be of a regional or national nature or have the potential to be rolled out geographically.
Do you have a project that might interest us?
We look forward to hearing from you. You have the best chance of receiving funding if your project meets the criteria listed above. We will review your project without obligation and get back to you.
Projects sponsored by the Sanitas foundation
Promoting the digital resilience of young people through playful learning
Young people in Switzerland are online up to three hours a day. This offers opportunities, but also poses risks such as cyberbullying, disinformation and data misuse. To promote digital resilience, a team from the University of Zurich, Zurich University of Applied Sciences and Graubünden University of Applied Sciences is developing Cyber Safari. Inspired by the Foxtrail concept, this project combines digital learning with exercise. In an interactive treasure hunt, young people solve fun challenges designed to strengthen their media skills. The Sanitas foundation is supporting the technical implementation of the app to prepare young people for the challenges of the digital world.
Keeping mentally fit
Taking care of your own mental health is becoming increasingly important, but many people don’t know how to strengthen their mental fitness. That’s why the Geneva-based association Minds is developing the digital educational platform mindsUP. It offers free digital and analogue resources aimed at raising awareness, providing information and encouraging habits that boost well-being and strengthen social relationships. The Sanitas foundation is supporting the project to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from mindsUP. The platform is currently only available in French.
Living with dementia
The interactive platform demenzworld aims to make dealing with dementia as easy as possible for those affected and their relatives. Valuable information can be found by interested parties in the online magazine «demenzjournal» and in the lexicon «demenzwiki». For personal exchange, the physical meetings «demenzmeets» and the online «demenzforum» are available. Receive the right tip at the right time either in the «demenznavi» or directly in a conversation with the new chatbot Sophie. After successfully developing e-learning modules for relatives, the Sanitas Foundation also supports the further expansion of the e-learning sector.
New way to aid weight loss
Obesity is a serious challenge for society. Although state-of-the-art weight loss injections (GLP-1 receptor agonists) provide a new method for weight loss, the weight usually returns once the injections stop. Taking emotional eating behaviour into account could help to encourage sustainable behavioural changes. The Bern University of Applied Sciences has therefore launched a pilot study to test whether mindfulness-based group therapy changes eating behaviour and improves weight control in the long term. The Sanitas foundation supports this new approach.
Bern University of Applied Sciences (Nutrition and Dietetics)
Swiss-wide pollen data
One in five people in Switzerland suffer from a pollen allergy. In spring, it’s pollen from bushes and trees that causes sneezing and streaming eyes, while in summer it’s mainly grass pollen. The symptoms of a pollen allergy can be severe, which is why the aha! Swiss Allergy Centre provides information about the pollen count on its website pollenundallergie.ch and the pollen news app. For improved therapy management, pollen count information will in future be calculated for the whole of Switzerland by MeteoSwiss and made available via the app and the website of aha! Swiss Allergy Centre. The app service also includes a symptom diary.
pollenundallergie.ch and the free pollen news app
Alarm system for diabetes
There are many good new technologies for improved blood glucose control for diabetes patients, but the early detection of dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels remains a challenge. A group of researchers at the University of Bern hopes to create an alarm system based on artificial intelligence (AI), which is being optimised and validated as part of a clinical trial. The Sanitas foundation wants to play a role in the early detection of dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
Healthy development of young children
Smartphones and tablets are a wonderful invention, but parents are increasingly unsure about how to ensure the healthy development of their young children against the everyday backdrop of these devices. The Marie Meierhofer Institute for Children, associated to the University of Zurich, has therefore launched a study in which interested parents can use WhatsApp over a number of weeks to build their skills and access resources while also receiving information about healthy development. The programme centres around a behavioural change plan defined individually by the parents (e.g. switch off all digital media during mealtimes). The coaching intervention study will be scientifically evaluated and supported by the Sanitas health insurance foundation.
Sexual education for vocational schools
Aids-Hilfe St. Gallen Appenzell and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts are developing a new digital platform for use in delivering a sex education programme to vocational schools, based on the flipped classroom concept. The project aims to provide a high-quality educational programme on sexual health issues as part of the general education curriculum at vocational schools. It will help teachers ensure that they can deliver a basic standard of knowledge around sexual health issues. The Sanitas foundation is involved in developing the digital platform, which is central to the new learning process for young people.
Safety on the net
The virtual world opens up many opportunities for children and young people, but also harbours risks. Education and empowerment are needed to face online challenges such as fake news, cyberbullying or cybergrooming The Netpathie association creates awareness of the opportunities and risks by holding project days and weeks for children and young people between the age of 6 and 19. The workshops are supplemented with input for parents and teachers, social workers and other experts. The Sanitas foundation supports the expansion of this offer into extracurricular activities, such as the scouts and football clubs.
Lifestyle and healthy ageing
Can personalised preventive care slow down the biological ageing process? The Precision Age project run by the medical ageing research team at the University of Zurich is looking for answers to this question. It aims to create a scientific basis for middle-aged adults to positively influence the ageing process by making sustainable, healthy lifestyle changes. The interventional study − involving an active group and a control group − is investigating how factors such as physical activity, diet, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, mindfulness and sleep affect the ageing process in over 600 participants aged between 45 and 65. The Sanitas foundation is involved in the digital platform for connecting participants.