The digital cohort, led by the Girona Provincial Council (Diputació de Girona) and backed by the Government of Catalonia, will launch in Girona and Bescanó, before a phased rollout through early 2027.
Following the finalization of the start dates and the municipal schedule, recruitment is set to begin on February 16, 2026. This phase relies on the essential cooperation of local town halls to reach the target of nearly four thousand participants (aged 16 to 79) required for the project’s success.
Maria Puig, Third Vice-President of the Girona Provincial Council and Delegate President of Dipsalut, describes it as a vital, pioneering study: «We are launching a nationwide project on a local scale. Girostudi will provide us with high-resolution, local data that reflects the true situation of our municipalities. This insight will allow us to anticipate inequalities, assess the impact of social and environmental determinants, and design policies to enhance the quality of life throughout the Girona region».
Municipal Rollout of Girostudi
To select the eighteen participating municipalities, every town in the Girona province was profiled based on social, environmental, and health indicators. Subsequently, two municipalities from each county—one large and one small—were randomly selected to illustrate the diverse landscape of the different territories. Participants will be chosen at random using scientific criteria to ensure a representative sample of the province’s population.
The eighteen selected municipalities, in order of participation, are:
Girona, Bescanó, la Cellera de Ter, Vidreres, Figueres, Blanes, Llançà, Camprodon, Sant Joan de les Abadesses, Porqueras, Banyoles, Olot, Besalú, les Preses, Llívia, Puigcerdà, Santa Cristina d’Aro and Palamós.
Recruitment will begin on February 16, 2026, and will be carried out in stages through early 2027.
Collaborative Workflow with Municipalities
In recent weeks, agents from Dipsalut’s Municipal Public Health Network have visited the selected town halls to establish initial contact and discuss operational requirements. Since mid-November 2025, the Girostudi team has been meeting with local government officials to present the project firsthand, organize the logistics for using municipal spaces for interviews, and coordinate local communications.
The strong cooperation from local councils has been key to creating an effective partnership that ensures community reach and operational excellence. The President of Dipsalut remarked: «I particularly appreciate the involvement of the town halls and our joint efforts to set up municipal facilities and open communication channels to facilitate direct contact with the public».
Girona and Bescanó: Leading the Way
Girostudi begins in the Gironès county, with Girona and Bescanó representing the large and small municipal categories, respectively.
In Girona city, recruitment will focus on residents served by the Montilivi and Can Gibert del Pla primary care areas. The study will be supported by two cutting-edge, EU-funded research projects—Expoair and Expowaste—which will expand the health and environmental datasets.
Specifically, Expowaste data (analyzing pollutants in wastewater) will be correlated with biological samples from Girostudi participants. This will help assess exposure to chemical and environmental toxins and their impact on gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance. This is a joint project by CSIC, ICRA and Dipsalut.
Expoair aims to analyze indoor organic compounds and their effect on residents’ health (the chemical exposome). Sensors will be installed in the homes of 200 Girostudi participants in Girona. This international collaboration involves the University of Athens, IDAEA-CSIC, Stockholm University and Dipsalut.
Xavier Aldeguer Manté, Councilor for Talent, Innovation, Health and Community at Girona City Council, explained: «Girona has been designated as a standalone cluster within Girostudi. This provides a unique opportunity for the 400 local participants to be analyzed across various metrics, providing invaluable data».
And he added:
«As a city council, we must support this; it is a major opportunity to help us implement data-driven policies in the future».
Bescanó will be the first small municipality to join. Mayor Xavier Vinyoles Compta noted: «For Bescanó, a village of just five thousand people, participating in Girostudi is vital. For the first time, we will have data tailored to our specific reality, allowing us to design personalized policies and improve our residents’ quality of life».
Scientific Alliances and Research
The project is a collaborative effort involving the Government of Catalonia via ICS-IAS, IDIAP Jordi Gol, TIC Salut Social and IDIBGI. The latter will provide Biobank expertise to ensure the traceability, quality and ethical oversight of human samples.
Jaume Heredia, Manager of the Girona Health Region, emphasized: «Girostudi is a strategic opportunity to bridge the gap between primary care, research and the environment. It is estimated that 80% of public health outcomes are driven by factors outside the healthcare system. Girostudi accounts for all of them».
The project also includes partnerships with health-data technology leader Genomcore and social research firm Ipsos, showcasing a public-private collaboration for the public good.
Background
Currently, the Girona province faces territorial inequality regarding data availability, as most data is only available for towns with over 20,000 residents. This gap makes it difficult to tailor social and health policies to the local territory.
To address this, Dipsalut’s Observatory is launching the Girostudi digital cohort, with guidance from a scientific committee.
Girostudi will collect data over ten years to analyze social and environmental determinants. For the first time, “kilometer zero” data will be available for all 221 municipalities in the region.
The digital cohort interacts with participants online, facilitating year-round communication and citizen science.
Further Information
Visit www.girostudi.cat for project details, schedules, frequently asked questions and the registration form for the open sample.
