Reach Out : Integrated community healthcare and OUT-REACH services for hard-to-reach populations

The Reach Out project, funded by DG Santé, aims to implement an integrated intervention dedicated to improving the health conditions of migrants and disadvantaged groups of the local population in specific areas of Italy, Malta, and Greece. This will be achieved through prevention, early diagnosis, and access to care for TB, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis B and C, as well as by strengthening and promoting cooperation between institutions, NGOs, healthcare professionals, and social workers.

To achieve this goal, the Reach Out project will undertake a series of actions dedicated to raising awareness and promoting the prevention of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Information will be disseminated to the widest possible audience, including the general public, migrants, professionals, institutions, and organizations working in healthcare, care, and reception of migrants and disadvantaged subjects, in order to maximize the impact of the project.

Reach Out will adopt a holistic approach to promote services and information, making massive use of internet technology. This will include developing a targeted communication campaign conducted on the main social media platforms, chosen among those most used by the migrant population, with the aim of sharing information about existing services and disease prevention.

The main expected changes from the project activities are as follows:

• -Behavioral changes among the target groups in health matters, particularly HIV/STDs and TB.
• -Facilitation of access to biomedical interventions for HIV prevention.
• -Improvement in access to public healthcare services.
• -Practical improvements for health authorities in their ability to reach all residents in a given area, including those who are present illegally or settled in informal housing.