Document-level behavioural-specification assessments of the EU Safe Hearts Plan and four European cardiovascular policy documents

Newson, Lisa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5874-8762, Lotto, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4305-0513, Rashidi, A, Evans, T, Mohamed, NF and Jones, ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3081-0069 (2026) Document-level behavioural-specification assessments of the EU Safe Hearts Plan and four European cardiovascular policy documents. [Data Collection]

Abstract

This dataset comprises the document-level behavioural-specification assessments underpinning a structured interpretive review of the European Union Safe Hearts Plan and four supporting European cardiovascular policy documents. It is deposited as a separately citable resource to accompany the parent manuscript, "From behavioural risk to behavioural systems: a policy translation framework for strengthening implementation of the European Union Safe Hearts Plan and national cardiovascular strategies," submitted to the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in May 2026.
Five documents were reviewed: the EU Safe Hearts Plan (COM(2025) 1024 final), the EACH 2025 Roadmap, and three national cardiovascular strategies from Italy (2024–2027), the Czech Republic (2025–2030), and Romania (2025–2030). Each document was assessed against three minimum standards for behavioural specification in policy: (1) explicit articulation of the behavioural mechanisms through which policy targets are expected to be achieved; (2) distinction between processes of behavioural initiation and maintenance, with corresponding system-level provisions; and (3) specification of how behaviours across system actors are coordinated through incentives, workflows, or environmental structures. For each requirement, documents were classified as Present, Partial, or Absent, supported by extracted evidence and structured interpretive commentary.
Across all five documents, behavioural mechanisms and cross-actor alignment were consistently assessed as Partial, while the distinction between initiation and maintenance was uniformly Absent. The deposit provides the full evidence base, classifications, and reasoning for each assessment, enabling readers to interrogate the analytic logic of the parent manuscript and supporting transparency, reuse, and further policy-translation research in cardiovascular health.

Creators:	Newson, Lisa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5874-8762, Lotto, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4305-0513, Rashidi, A, Evans, T, Mohamed, NF and Jones, ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3081-0069
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science (LCCS); Institute for Health Research (IHR); 4206 Public health; 520304 Health psychology; 420605 Preventative health care; 4203 Health services and systems; 420319 Primary health care
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.24377/LJMU.d.00000273
Division:	Psychology (new Sep 2019)
Field of Research:	Health sciences > Health services and systems Health sciences > Health services and systems > Primary health care Health sciences > Public health Health sciences > Public health > Preventative health care Psychology > Clinical and health psychology > Health psychology
Date Deposited:	12 May 2026 10:52
Last Modified:	12 May 2026 10:52
URI:	https://opendata.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/273
Data collection method:	Data were generated through a structured interpretive review of five European cardiovascular policy documents, retrieved from their issuing institutions between March and April 2026. Each document was reviewed in full, with relevant sections (strategic objectives, implementation plans, delivery mechanisms, and rehabilitation provisions) assessed against three predefined requirements concerning behavioural specification: (1) explicit articulation of behavioural mechanisms; (2) distinction between processes of initiation and maintenance; and (3) cross-actor behavioural alignment. For each requirement, documents were classified as Present, Partial, or Absent, accompanied by extracted textual evidence and interpretive commentary. The Czech and Romanian plans were reviewed using digital translation, with author verification of key sections to ensure accurate interpretation. Assessments were conducted by the authors as a structured interpretive analysis; formal inter-rater reliability coding was not undertaken.
Resource language:	English
Metadata language:	English
Statement on legal, ethical and access issues:	This dataset comprises author-conducted interpretive assessments of publicly available European cardiovascular policy documents issued by governmental and institutional bodies (the European Commission, the European Alliance for Cardiovascular Health, the Italian Federation of Cardiology, the Czech Ministry of Health, and the Government of Romania). No human participants, personal data, or confidential material were involved in the generation of this dataset, and formal ethical approval was therefore not required. All source documents were obtained from publicly accessible institutional or governmental sources and are cited in full within the deposit. The assessments, classifications, and interpretive commentary are the original analytical work of the authors. The dataset is made openly available to support transparency and reuse, with no access restrictions.
Collection period:	From To 2 March 2026 5 May 2026