The pilot project POBA (Pertsonen Ongizatea Begirada Anitzetik Aretxabaletan), launched in Aretxabaleta (Gipuzkoa), integrates social, health, and community services in a coordinated manner. Its purpose is to delay or prevent situations of dependency through anticipation and comprehensive care.
The Department of Welfare, Youth and Demographic Challenge of the Basque Government will allocate an investment of 100,000 euros to evaluate the model's impact. These funds will be distributed as 25,700 euros in 2026 and 74,300 euros in 2027.
The project is driven by the Adinberri Foundation (Gipuzkoa Provincial Council), the Aretxabaleta City Council, Osakidetza (Basque Health Service), and the Basque Government's Department of Health, aiming to design and test a preventive, predictive, and proactive sociosanitary care model.
Aretxabaleta, located in the rural Debagoiena region, has a population of 7,178 inhabitants, of whom 23.3% are elderly (1,673). The model promotes active prevention of frailty by identifying risks early and developing personalized programs to maintain autonomy.
The evaluation will measure economic and social effectiveness, enabling public administrations to identify which interventions work, for whom, and at what cost, thereby informing investment decisions and the scaling of successful models.
