SPARK-CS stands for Supporting Physical Activity via Recommendations from Knowledge-systems for Cancer Survivors.
This project aims to develop a digital health intervention to increase physical activity among cancer survivors through an innovative knowledge-based approach. Despite evidence showing physical activity benefits for cancer survivors, less than 30% meet recommended guidelines. Current digital interventions use rudimentary personalization and contextualisation that fails to address the specific challenges faced by this population. Cancer survivors experience fluctuating symptoms and treatment effects that require highly personalized approaches to physical activity support.
SPARK-CS will expand the existing ontologies to create a comprehensive knowledge framework specifically for cancer survivors. The project’s novelty lies in its dual-layer decision support system that combines: (1) Ontology-based filtering to ensure recommendations are appropriate & (2) Machine learning algorithms to rank recommendations based on individual factors.
Objectives:
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Expand available ontologies to incorporate cancer-specific concepts and relationships
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Create an innovative dual-layer decision support system for recommendations
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Evaluate technical validity and personal relevance of the recommendation in real-world contexts.
This project addresses critical gaps in cancer survivorship care through stakeholder co-creation, formal ontology development, and rigorous evaluation strategies.
Partners
This project is funded by the FWO-KOTK program and combines the expertise of IDLab-UGent-imec and UGent Health Psychology Lab.