The PIECES Study is continuing to progress, providing valuable insights into the performance of the PIECES Toolkit. The study aims to understand how effectively the Toolkit supports professionals in selecting, adapting and implementing evidence-based cancer prevention programmes across different settings. By testing the Toolkit in real-world contexts, implementation teams are helping identify its strengths, understand the challenges users face, and inform future improvements.
In Germany, two implementation teams coordinated by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) are putting the Toolkit into practice in different settings. One team, based in a Prevention Outpatient Clinic, has selected and adapted a programme designed to increase daily physical activity among people with low activity levels. Another team, working in an Occupational Health Management setting, has adapted a skin cancer screening programme for employees.
Over the past year, both teams have made significant progress in selecting and adapting interventions to local needs with guidance from the PIECES Toolkit. Their experience has also provided valuable feedback on the Toolkit itself. Identifying suitable programmes within the PIECES Repository was not always straightforward, particularly when interventions had been developed for different target groups or required resources that were not readily available. Users also identified opportunities to improve the Toolkit’s usability, especially in relation to navigation and progress tracking across its different modules.
In addition, four implementation sites coordinated by Hannover Medical School (MHH) are testing the Toolkit in workplace and institutional settings. These sites—Volkswagen Wolfsburg, SEAT Barcelona, the MHH Occupational Health Service and the Olympic Training Centre Hannover—are using the Toolkit to support programmes that promote physical activity among employees.
The MHH teams emphasised the importance of engaging users early in the implementation process and clearly demonstrating the benefits of the Toolkit. They also noted that organisational changes can influence implementation timelines. For example, the ongoing restructuring process at Volkswagen Wolfsburg has affected the pace of implementation activities.
Overall, Germany’s experience is generating valuable insights into both the opportunities and challenges of implementing evidence-based cancer prevention programmes using the PIECES Toolkit. These findings will contribute to the continued refinement of the Toolkit and support future implementation efforts across the PIECES project.