External benefit- and development-oriented professional evaluation of a digital service infrastructure in setting prevention

The evaluation concerns the development and implementation of an innovative, digital and web-based infrastructure for offering health-promoting and preventative services related to people's daily lives (DIFA in German). DIFA aims to bring together all counseling, training, and networking services to support health-promotion in a low-threshold manner, providing easy access for users. DIFA aims to integrate all preventive services into an easily accessible infrastructure, supporting providers of preventive services in digitizing and disseminating their measures, whilst enabling parties from various settings (such as facility managers, professionals, or individuals) to have easy access to suitable offers. The Private Health Insurance Association (PKV Verband in German) supports the conception and implementation of DIFA and holds the strategic leadership. The project is implemented by Pathways Public Health GmbH in the role of project management and IBM iX in the role of technical development of the digital infrastructure. The evaluation follows the developmental evaluation approach, which aims to evaluate innovative measures or offerings in complex and dynamic environments, identifying promising development paths and evaluating their benefits. While the focus is on program development and the optimization of the DIFA prototype, the evaluation results should simultaneously support client decision-making and enable accountability to relevant stakeholders. The evaluation aims to reflect results from the perspective of various target groups. The method mix and triangulation of different perspectives strengthen the empirical basis for statements about the project, its successful interventions, and the effects achieved. Alongside the evaluation, a technical assessment is carried out by AWSi, ensuring compliance with the highest technical standards. Commissioned by: Private Health Insurance Association (PKV) (https://www.pkv.de/)