Wrocław has become the first local government in Poland to fully implement the innovative e-learning platform Custom-Med Lite. This solution forms the backbone of the educational campaign “Wrocław Gets Vaccinated,” aimed at increasing health awareness among residents and training local vaccination ambassadors among caregivers of children and seniors. Custom-Med is a joint initiative of technology specialists from Animativ and subject-matter experts from Wroclaw Medical University.
The Custom-Med Lite platform offers interactive, “tailor-made” courses adapted to the needs of specific target groups, such as childcare workers, elderly caregivers, and parents of teenagers.
How does the Custom-Med Lite application work?
The application is based on microlearning principles—knowledge is delivered through accessible mini video lectures lasting 3 to 7 minutes, followed by quizzes to reinforce learning. Once a sufficient score is achieved, the system allows users to generate a certificate confirming their acquired competencies—explains Dr. Kamila Ludwikowska, co-creator of the application, Vice-Dean for Development and Innovation at Wroclaw Medical University, and Deputy Head of the Department of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases.
A key technological component is narrative personalization—adapting the communication style to individual user needs. In extended versions of the implementation, it is even possible to tailor the form of communication not only to a user’s health needs but also to their psychosocial profile.
“We used behavioural science principles to create a system that adjusts messaging to the user’s profile—task-oriented, relational, or cognitive—making the learning process more engaging and effective,” says Marcin Kwiatkowski, CEO of Animativ.
Medical University in the fight for reliable knowledge
The implementation of the application is part of the Wroclaw Medical University campaign “Better to Know,” which aims to promote prevention and actively combat medical misinformation.
The Custom-Med Lite platform is one of the key tools for building what is known as the “cognitive resilience” of residents. The content available in the application, developed by an interdisciplinary team of experts from Wroclaw Medical University and other medical universities in Poland in the fields of infectious diseases and public health, teaches, among other things, the 3C scheme (Check–Compare–Consult). This helps users learn how to recognize fake news, heuristics, and mechanisms of medical misinformation, and how to protect themselves against them.
Benefits for the city and its residents
Experience from local health programs shows that long-term local government initiatives bring measurable results in the form of increased health awareness and higher vaccination rates among residents.
As emphasized by Prof. Leszek Szenborn, Head of the Department and Clinic of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław remains a leader in this area, particularly among teenagers. However, there is still a need to promote vaccination culture among adults.
“Vaccination is not only about protecting oneself, but also about caring for others. Even without symptoms, we can transmit infections to particularly vulnerable individuals, such as children, seniors, pregnant women, or transplant patients,” notes Joanna Nyczak, Director of the Department of Health and Social Affairs at the Wrocław City Office. “Between 2010 and 2023, we implemented an HPV prevention program, vaccinating approximately 27,000 girls and boys. Today, vaccinations are conducted by the Ministry of Health, but the city continues to focus on education and prevention,” she adds.
Beyond providing access to reliable knowledge about vaccinations, the Custom-Med platform also brings tangible benefits for city management and the social sphere. The system enables precise reporting of campaign outcomes, including the number of participants, time spent learning, and average test scores, allowing for ongoing monitoring of residents’ engagement.
More information can be found at: www.custom-med.com and www.wroclawsieszczepi.pl
Photo: Tomasz Walów / Wroclaw Medical University