Map the Gap Hackathon

On April 2nd, 2026, our partners from KOC University with the support of Brussels-based EQUICARES consortium partners (White Research, EASPD, EHTEL, and DIESIS), organised a dedicated hackathon in Brussels, bringing together 20 participants from across Europe to collaboratively explore solutions for improving equitable access to mental healthcare for people in vulnerable situations.

The event gathered a diverse, multidisciplinary group of stakeholders, including NGOs, social economy organisations, regional actors, service providers, and researchers, ensuring both system-level and real-world perspectives were represented.

A collaborative and multidisciplinary approach

The hackathon created a space for dialogue across sectors, combining policy, practice, research, and user perspectives. This diversity was a key strength of the event, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges surrounding mental healthcare access.

Working towards an equity-focused assessment tool

The hackathon focused on identifying barriers to mental healthcare access using the Levesque Framework as a common structure. Through a structured and interactive process, participants:

Identified recurring challenges affecting access to care
Reflected on missing perspectives and gaps in current approaches
Mapped barriers across different dimensions of access
Developed draft questions to support future assessment

This collaborative work resulted in a broad set of insights, concepts, and preliminary questions that will contribute to the development of an equity-focused mental healthcare accessibility assessment tool.

Strengthening cross-sector collaboration

Beyond its technical outputs, the hackathon reinforced the importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing complex mental health inequalities. By bringing together diverse expertise and experiences, the event supported knowledge exchange and helped ensure that future EQUICARES tools and solutions are grounded in real needs and practical realities.

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Funded by the European Union under GA no. 101156500. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Map the Gap Hackathon

The event gathered a diverse, multidisciplinary group of stakeholders, including NGOs, social economy organisations, regional actors, service providers, and researchers, ensuring both system-level and real-world perspectives were represented.

A collaborative and multidisciplinary approach

The hackathon created a space for dialogue across sectors, combining policy, practice, research, and user perspectives. This diversity was a key strength of the event, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges surrounding mental healthcare access.

Working towards an equity-focused assessment tool

The hackathon focused on identifying barriers to mental healthcare access using the Levesque Framework as a common structure. Through a structured and interactive process, participants:

Identified recurring challenges affecting access to care

Reflected on missing perspectives and gaps in current approaches

Mapped barriers across different dimensions of access

Developed draft questions to support future assessment

This collaborative work resulted in a broad set of insights, concepts, and preliminary questions that will contribute to the development of an equity-focused mental healthcare accessibility assessment tool.

Strengthening cross-sector collaboration

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Resources

Research on Accessibility Barriers

The EQUICARES approach adopts the Levesque Framework, which assesses service accessibility through the lenses of approachability, acceptability, availability, affordability, and appropriateness.The framework will be expanded to specifically address the needs of individuals in vulnerable situations.

A mixed-methods approach will be used, including:

● Ethnographic research (both in-person and digital)

● Application of the Levesque framework to create new mental health-related indicators for evaluating accessibility barriers

● Conducting interviews, focus groups, and surveys

● Collaboration with cultural mediators when needed to build trust and facilitate engagement with vulnerable populations

● Enhancement and integration of existing EU and national databases (e.g., EU-SILC, European Health Interview Survey) for comprehensive analysis

Key Components

● Provides data on service affordability and accessibility as well as on other life satisfaction elements. Tracks impact through cost-consequence analysis and performance tools.

● Helps evaluate financial and social implications in mental health access.

● Dashboard of the identified innovative solutions

● Categorised solutions with interactive visualisations

● Customisable preferences

● Provides personalised mental health support

● Is tested by end-users in the Smart Health Labs

● Fosters mental health and digital literacy.

● Analyses trends and forecasts needs

● Matches policymakers with relevant solutions

● Summarises research and pilot findings

● Provides tailored policy recommendations for stakeholders

● Deploys the roadmap for scaling successful interventions to address mental health challenges

● Provides guidance in developing a roadmap for assessing access to mental health and care service

● Includes the EQUICARES methodology and the project’s solutions

Co-creating and Piloting the proposed solutions

Policy Dashboard

The Policy Dashboard is a centralised platform monitoring, assessment, and cost analysis tools; the Atlas; the AI Assistant; and the policy recommendations

With the Policy Dashboard, policymakers, healthcare providers, researchers and all interested stakeholders can:

● Analyze disparities in mental health service accessibility

● Identify solutions tailored to specific populations

● Use insights to inform policy decisions

WP1: Framework for Mental Healthcare Access

WP1 will develop a framework to assess mental health service access for people in vulnerable situations using an adapted Levesque model. It will analyse key drivers of mental health disruptions and identify barriers at macro, meso, and micro levels through interviews, surveys, and field studies.

WP2: Ιdentification and assessment of innovative solutions that promote and improve access to mental health and care services

WP3: Pilot Case Profiling and Community Engagement

WP3 will profile pilot cases, conduct awareness campaigns, and co-creation workshops to establish 8 “Smart Health Labs”. It will implement capacity-building programs and develop an “AI assistant” for personalised mental health support.

WP4: Evaluation, cost analysis, and policy support

WP4 will engage citizens, service providers and care workers to co-design local deployment roadmaps and implement “small-scale pilot projects” to test mental health solutions.

WP5: Evaluation and Policy Recommendations

WP5 will evaluate project outcomes, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and develop the EQUICARES Policy Dashboard. It will ensure sustainability through a “Replication Handbook” and provide policy recommendations through targeted policy briefs.

WP6, WP7, WP8: Dissemination, exploitation, and sustainability

These horizontal WPs will disseminate project’s results, establish a ”Network of Interest”, form synergies with other initiatives, and develop a “Sustainability and Exploitation Plan”, including IP and innovation management.

WP9, WP10, WP11: Project Management and coordination

These horizontal WPs will oversee administrative, financial, legal, and ethical aspects, ensuring compliance, quality assurance, and smooth coordination across project partners.

WP1: Rahmen für den Zugang zur psychischen Gesundheitsversorgung

WP2: Identifikation und Bewertung innovativer Lösungen zur Förderung und Verbesserung des Zugangs zu Angeboten der psychischen Gesundheitsversorgung

WP3: Profilierung von Pilotfällen und Einbindung von Communities

WP4: Evaluation, Kostenanalyse und politische Unterstützung

WP4 wird Bürger*innen, Dienstleistungsanbieter und Fachkräfte der psychosozialen Versorgung einbinden, um gemeinsam lokale Implementierungspläne zu entwickeln und „kleine Pilotprojekte“ zur Erprobung von Lösungen im Bereich psychische Gesundheit umzusetzen.

WP5: Evaluation and Policy Recommendations

WP5 will evaluate project outcomes, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and develop the EQUICARES Policy Dashboard. It will ensure sustainability through a “Replication Handbook” and provide policy recommendations through targeted policy briefs.

WP6, WP7, WP8: Verbreitung, Verwendung und Nachhaltigkeit

WP9, WP10, WP11: Projektmanagement und Koordination

Diese horizontalen Arbeitspakete (WPs) übernehmen die Verantwortung für administrative, finanzielle, rechtliche und ethische Aspekte und stellen die Einhaltung von Vorgaben, die Qualitätssicherung sowie eine reibungslose Koordination zwischen den Projektpartnern sicher.

WP1 : Cadre pour l'accès aux soins de santé mentale

WP2 : Identification et évaluation des solutions innovantes qui promeuvent et améliorent l'accès à la santé mentale et aux services de soins

WP3 : Profilage des cas pilotes et engagement de la communauté

WP4 : Évaluation, analyse des coûts et soutien politique

Le WP4 impliquera les citoyens, les prestataires de services et les travailleurs sociaux dans la co-conception de feuilles de route pour le déploiement local et la mise en œuvre de « projets pilotes à petite échelle » pour tester les solutions en matière de santé mentale.

WP5: Evaluation and Policy Recommendations

WP5 will evaluate project outcomes, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and develop the EQUICARES Policy Dashboard. It will ensure sustainability through a “Replication Handbook” and provide policy recommendations through targeted policy briefs.

WP6, WP7, WP8 : Diffusion, exploitation et durabilité

WP9, WP10, WP11 : Gestion et coordination du projet

Ces groupes de travail horizontaux superviseront les aspects administratifs, financiers, juridiques et éthiques, en veillant à la conformité, à l'assurance qualité et à la bonne coordination entre les partenaires du projet.