Implementing the Finnish Smart Family model in six European countries

Abstract Smart Family, developed by the Finnish Heart Association, was implemented through the JA Health4EUKids. Its goal is to promote healthy lifestyles among families to prevent childhood overweight and obesity. The countries piloting Smart Family are Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain (Balearic Islands). The implementation process followed the structured implementation framework, progressing through a pre-implementation (planning), implementation, and post-implementation phase. Each country conducted a baseline situation analysis-including SWOT assessments-and developed tailored pilot action plans targeting families with children in different settings, such as kindergartens, schools, and community health systems. Pilots aimed to strengthen professionals’ motivational counseling skills, provide families with tools for improving nutrition, physical activity, stress management, breastfeeding and parenting, and integrate Smart Family tools into existing services or digital platforms. Early findings show that while implementation settings vary, common enablers include motivated core teams, cross-sector collaboration, and flexibility in applying the method. Shared challenges were related to workforce limitations, structural fragmentation, and economic barriers. Results highlight the potential for a scalable, evidence-based, and adaptable approach to supporting lifestyle changes through primary prevention. Smart family operates across settings to strengthen professionals’ motivational counselling while providing families with practical tools for nutrition, physical activity, stress management, breastfeeding, and parenting skills. Initial findings provide insights of key enablers and barriers/ challenges, suggesting Smart Family offers potential as a scalable, evidence-based approach to primary child obesity prevention, although it requires commitment & digital resources at the least for building sustainable obesity prevention structures across Europe