On the occasion of the 2nd EQUICARES project meeting in Istanbul, partners participated in an in-depth, hands-on workshop dedicated to the Levesque Framework for healthcare accessibility, a foundational tool being adapted by the project to evaluate access to mental healthcare services across Europe.

Led by Koç University, the workshop offered a unique opportunity for partners to collectively reflect on what accessibility means in practice, especially for individuals and communities in vulnerable situations.

To make the discussion concrete and participatory, the consortium was divided into smaller working groups. Each group was tasked with examining real-life examples of mental health service challenges and categorising them according to the ten elements of the Levesque model. These dynamic conversations helped to unpack the complex, interlinked barriers that affect both the supply and demand sides of care.

The workshop marked a key step toward the development of an inclusive, context-sensitive accessibility assessment tool that will support future EQUICARES activities—from data collection and policy mapping to pilot site implementation and evaluation.

By putting this framework into practice early in the project, EQUICARES reinforces its commitment to building evidence-based, user-informed solutions that place the needs and capacities of people at the centre of mental health access strategies.