The SUMIT project (Substance Use and Mental Health Interventions using Digital Technology) is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) with the initial beneficiaries being 1,500 people facing significant barriers to care.

Led by Queen’s Communities and Place (QCAP), the initiative will work with key partners and associate partners to develop three new digital products to add to, and enhance, existing health and social care services. These innovations are in direct response to shared challenges identified across the island where individuals with substance use and mental health issues are often faced with compounding barriers including poverty, stigma, and poor physical health with additional challenges accessing treatment and support. 

The programme will combine academic expertise, advanced digital implementation, frontline service knowledge, and lived experience by bringing together five core project partners and eight associate partners across north-south jurisdictions over four years.
Amid increasing pressures on health and social care systems – including workforce shortages and rising demand – the project provides a timely approach to improving access to support. The long-term view of the project is to expand digital inclusion in wider policy and strategic considerations for informing healthcare transformation.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA said:

“I’m delighted by the launch of the PEACEPLUS-funded SUMIT Project at a time when substance use continues to present health challenges and devasting impacts for individuals, families and communities across our island. Sadly, the effects of substance use, and the associated mental health issues which present alongside it, continue to be felt by some parts of our society more than others.

“Technology has proven to be transformative in many areas, including the effective delivery of psychological therapies, and SUMIT will allow us to build further on this.

“During a period of sustained financial constraint and workforce pressures, pursuing digitally innovative approaches also holds real promise for both service providers and those needing timely access to health and social care.”

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD said:

“By expanding digital inclusion to individuals living with substance use and associated mental health issues, the SUMIT project has the potential to create lasting positive changes in the lives of some of the most vulnerable members of our society. It will also provide valuable insights to inform future policies and strategies for digitally enabled health and social care services.

“I am very pleased that the SUMIT project is being launched with support from the PEACEPLUS Programme. I wish the SUMIT project every success and look forward to seeing how it helps people live healthier and more hopeful lives.”

Gina McIntyre, Chief Executive of SEUPB, said:

“This project is a significant investment under the Healthy and Inclusive Communities theme of the PEACEPLUS Programme. SUMIT will transform how care is accessed and delivered and so providing an opportunity for equality of access to essential services and especially amongst our citizens who are too often unseen.

“What makes this initiative especially powerful is the breadth and strength of the partnership. Alongside Queen’s and Trinity College Dublin, partners from Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, the University of St Andrews, and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations bring leading expertise in digital health innovation. 

“This is a project that embodies transformation – in care, in connection, and in compassion. This collaboration exemplifies a key objective of PEACEPLUS, forging solutions that cross borders, tackling inequality and building a better future for everyone.”

Welcoming the project funding, Queen’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Ian Greer said: 

“Queen’s is delighted to be a recipient of PEACEPLUS funding for this vital initiative. Our University has long held a deep commitment to having a positive impact across the island of Ireland and improving health outcomes is a key pillar of this.

“Through academic and community sector collaboration, this project will contribute to the delivery of government health priorities north and south of the border, offering tangible benefits through a digital solution which will provide easier access to community-based treatment and support in a personalised way.”

This cross-border collaboration reflects wider policy goals on both sides of the border to transform how health and social care services are delivered. SUMIT will serve as a testbed for change, helping inform future strategies and digitally enabled care models across Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The three digital products will be piloted within a cross-border testbed environment, helping shape the future of digital health and social care services.

Media

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