When we think about our health, we usually imagine hospitals, blood tests, or the biological heritage of our parents. However, science is becoming increasingly clear: the environment where you are born, grow, work, and age determines your wellbeing much more than your DNA.

Health goes beyond biology

Although advances in genetics are fascinating, the reality is that your postcode is a more accurate predictor of life expectancy than your genetic code: this is due to what are known as the social determinants of health.

Factors such as the quality of housing, access to green spaces, job stability, or local support networks directly influence the onset of chronic diseases. It is not just about having a GP surgery nearby, but about living in an environment that does not make you ill.

CAIR: working for health equity

The CAIR project (an acronym for Cocreating Actions to Improve Rationality in the Health System) was born with a clear mission: to increase health equity. Led by the Miguel Hernández University of Elche and funded by the European Union through an ERC Consolidator Grant (No. 101125843), the project seeks to make the healthcare system more rational and fair for everyone, regardless of their neighbourhood.

A lack of equity does not mean that everyone receives the same, but that each person receives what they need to reach their full health potential: to achieve this, CAIR is committed to co-creation.

How does co-creation help close the gap?

Co-creation is a collaborative process that brings together different stakeholders to design solutions: authorities, healthcare professionals, community organisations, and the citizens themselves work together to identify problems and develop participatory responses.

By involving the community in decision-making, we achieve:

• Identifying real needs: nobody knows the problems of a neighbourhood better than those who live in it.
• Reducing medicalisation: by proposing community solutions to problems that are often addressed solely with pharmaceuticals.
• Strengthening the public system: easing the burden on primary care through initiatives that arise from the social environment itself.

A more rational health system

The ultimate goal of CAIR is to stimulate changes in the functioning of the health system: we want to demonstrate that, when the community organises and collaborates with professionals, it is possible to reduce inequalities.

Your health should not depend on the street you live in. Through research and participatory action, at CAIR we work to ensure that rationality and equity are the pillars of our healthcare.