Reducing medicines in circulation – Behavior change for health and water protection

Project partners: Public Health Agency of Sweden, Gävle Vatten AB, Region Gävleborg, RISE, SLU, Svenskt Vatten, Uppsala University

Grant: SEK 1 000 000

Project duration: 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30

Contact person: Hannah Moström, Gävle Vatten AB

Linked to mission: Target 3 – Mission 1 (reduce impacts on aquatic ecosystems) and Mission 2 (prevent and reduce the spread of hazardous substances)

Purpose and objectives

The aim of the project is to develop innovative communication methods to reduce pharmaceutical residues in the aquatic environment through behavior change at the source. As Sweden’s first fully Antibiotic Smart certified water utility, Gävle Vatten is leading upstream work together with Region Gävleborg to create target group specific communication strategies that reduce antibiotic residues in wastewater and increase knowledge for safe antibiotic use.

Expected impacts and results

The project directly contributes to the Water Wise Societies’ target 3 by reducing the impact on aquatic ecosystems and preventing the spread of hazardous substances. The innovative approach integrates environmental awareness before and during the prescription and use of medicines. Concrete results include evidence-based communication methods that make the environmental impact of medicines visible, reduced spread of antibiotic resistance, increased environmental literacy among healthcare professionals and scalable communication tools for national implementation. Societal benefits are created through reduced environmental impact on watercourses, increased public awareness of the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals, improved communication channels between the water and health sectors, and concrete tools for environmentally conscious decisions. Results are measured by increasing residents’ knowledge, long-term measurement of pharmaceuticals at treatment plants, prescription data and campaign reach.

Planned approach and implementation

The project is carried out October 2025 – September 2026 in five work packages with external project management and interdisciplinary expert collaboration between Gävle Vatten, Region Gävleborg (including Regional Stramagrupp) and experts from RISE, Swedish Water, SLU and Uppsala University.

The project is divided into the following work packages: WP 1: Identification of emission sources based on prescription data and wastewater analysis. Target group selection and behavioral analysis according to the COM-B model to define target behaviors. WP 2: Production of evidence-based documentation and development of communication and education materials with key messages for different target groups. WP 3: Design of target group-oriented communication concepts with design of message, graphic profile and material prototypes through iterative development process. WP 4: Test environments for verification through implementation. Collection of qualitative and quantitative feedback. WP 5: Evaluation, compilation of lessons learned and development of plan for national scaling.

The text on this page was written by the project team. The content has not been reviewed by our editors.