For over forty years, the research group SLOfit from the Faculty of Sport at the University of Ljubljana has been collecting data on the physical fitness of Slovenian children and adolescents as part of the National Fitness Surveillance Programme SLOfit, one of the world’s first national lifelong fitness surveillance systems, supported by the “My SLOfit app”, a web-based application which provides smart algorithms for data cleansing and access to personal and school reports.
For over a year now, they also play a central role in collecting, analysing and interpreting data essential to the development of SmartCHANGE.
Who Are the People Behind SLOfit?
The SLOfit research group is currently focused on developing advanced analytical tools that will provide better insights into individuals' physical fitness and movement habits. It is composed from internationally recognized and established researchers, who also contribute their valuable knowledge and experience to the SmartCHANGE project.
Maroje Sorić, PhD is Senior Researcher in the SLOfit team and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb. His research focuses on the relationship between physical activity, physical fitness and health, especially in children and adolescents. Within this field, he published a series of international notable scientific work and had numerous invited lectures. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, he ranked among the 2% of the most influential scientists in the world according to the Stanford-Elsevier ranking. Dr. Sorić is the scientific manager of the SmartCHANGE project and leads Work Package 7 (WP7), responsible for the Proof-of-Concept Study. He believes that “the main goal of our work is to improve the quality of life for families through innovative digital solutions based on data and scientific findings.” His focus on concrete, practical, and scientifically proven solutions that deliver real benefits to users drives the entire WP7 team toward its clearly defined goal.
Another key member of the SLOfit team in the SmartCHANGE project is Prof. Gregor Jurak, PhD. He is the head of the SLOfit research team and a full professor in the Faculty of Sport at the University of Ljubljana. His main research interests include Physical Fitness, Physical Activity, Motor Development, Didactics of Physical Education and Sports management. Over the years, he has published more than 140 research papers. He’s been head of several national project teams in EU projects. He also coordinates all the participating researchers and activities at the Faculty of Sport within the SmartCHANGE project and leads the co-creation workshops with healthcare professionals, which are part of Work Package 3 (WP3) focusing on user engagement. He sees collaboration with families and healthcare practitioners as the key foundation for the SmartCHANGE project, believing that “new technologies are only successful if they are customized to the real needs of people.” Together with his team, he is laying the groundwork for upcoming pilot activities and supervising the dissemination of SmartCHANGE solutions within the SLOfit system.
Researcher Urška Kereži is responsible for communication and dissemination activities of the Slovenian team, while also leading the co-creation sessions with Slovenian families, closely linked to and complementing the co-creation sessions with healthcare professionals, as both of them will be the end-users of the SmartCHANGE application. The workshops' aim is to design the SmartCHANGE solution in a way that is aligned with users' expectations - content-wise, technically, and ethically. It must be user-friendly, intuitive, and effective in helping families make healthier everyday choices, thereby transforming unhealthy behaviour into a healthy lifestyle.
Assistant Prof. Dr. Bojan Leskošek, PhD, and Prof. Gregor Starc, PhD are leading the preparations of data for large predictive models that will enable personalized health experiences in the future. Their work is crucial for understanding the link between physical fitness data and individual health, as well as predicting long-term health outcomes and risks.
An important part of the Slovenian team is its young researchers, some of them also PhD students. Kaja Meh, MA of psychology, is involved in realist review to determine the best health behaviour change strategies and principles which could be implemented in SmartCHANGE solutions. Nika Bezjak, Tjaša Rojko, Sara Besal and Daša Pruš are preparing exercise challenges which will be implemented in SmartCHANGE applications to support change of children and adolescents’ movement behaviour.
SmartCHANGE and its Mission
SmartCHANGE will provide a comprehensive solution that connects families, schools, healthcare practitioners and researchers using advanced technologies. And in achieving this goal the SLOfit team collaborates closely with health-care partners (VUMC, UPORTO, JAMK), with VUB for all ethical considerations of the planned solutions, with IT partners CCARE and ENG in participatory design of SmartCHANGE solutions, with UPRC for synchronisation of data, with TUE for visualisation of complex AI-analysed data, and with Trust-IT for communication and dissemination activities. Furthermore, together with experts on AI, JSI and USI, we are developing algorithms to predict health risks and creating solutions that will enable early detection of potential health issues, allowing timely interventions to prevent the development of diseases.
“Our main task is to integrate as much health-related data about individuals as possible and use them to create personalized plans for improving their lifestyle and, consequently, their health.”
-Dr. Sorić.
The Next Big Step – Pilot Testing
The SLOfit team is currently working on one of the most critical steps in the SmartCHANGE project - the pilot test of the first SmartCHANGE app prototype. Schools, adolescents, families with children and healthcare professionals will participate in this pilot to test and evaluate the feasibility of the designed solutions in real-life situations. Pilot testing is essential for the project's further development, as feedback from end users will allow researchers and app developers to further refine the final solution.
The work of the SLOfit team in the SmartCHANGE project is a combination of science, technology and close collaboration with end users. With their vision and dedication, they are active players in creating a future where digital healthcare will be customized to the individual needs. As Dr. Jurak states, “The success of this solution lies not only in innovation but in the fact that people accept it and integrate it into their lives.”
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