🔍📘 HAS Labeling: a precise framework to transform an HAS production into a tool that is truly useful for field teams.
💡 Free, based on an HAS source, validated according to methodological and ethical criteria. #Prevention #HealthLiteracy
📌 This guide is directly useful for organisations that build practical tools from an HAS recommendation, particularly in prevention, public health, the medico-social sector, and user support.
It is mainly used to frame a project before writing, to avoid producing a tool that is unacceptable, non-compliant, or impossible to label.
It is of interest to teams that need methodological support to transform scientific content into a truly usable resource in the field.
Source: 📒 Labeling and referencing of tools to aid appropriation
✍️High Authority of Health (HAS). March 2026, validated by the College on 26 March 2026.📜🔗LINK to the source
Number of pages: 10
For field actors in health prevention and the medico-social sector, this guide is mainly a manual for transforming an HAS recommendation into a concrete tool, usable within teams and with the public, while ensuring the quality and institutional recognition of this work.
Why it is useful in prevention and the medico-social sector
It addresses a very concrete need: to make often technical recommendations understandable and actionable for educational teams, caregivers, social workers, and users in the health, medico-social, and social sectors.
It provides a clear framework for producing practical sheets, educational materials, checklists, facilitation tools, etc., ensuring that they remain faithful to the original HAS production and are adapted to the audiences (professionals, users, informal caregivers).
It allows for the official recognition by HAS of a locally produced tool, which lends credibility to prevention, health promotion, and quality improvement efforts in relation to oversight bodies, ARS, peers, or funders.
Analytical summary
Context and issues
The document starts from a simple observation: HAS publishes scientific and normative productions, but their practical implementation often requires an intermediate tool to make them more understandable and usable on a daily basis.
The guide is aimed at external organisations wishing to create a tool based on an HAS publication in the health, social, and medico-social fields.
It reminds us that several actors are already producing this type of tool, which necessitates clarifying the added value and unmet needs.
Operational contributions
The guide formalises the conditions for acceptability, the specifications, and the final decision on the awarding of the label, following a 4-step logic.
It also specifies the rules for using the label, the free of charge aspect, open access, and the conditions for displaying the HAS logo.
For a project holder, the document serves as a roadmap to secure the design, post-testing, validation, and dissemination of the tool.
Key points of the document
The label only concerns a support tool for appropriation based on an existing HAS publication or one included in the work programme, and consistent with its content (p. 5-6).
The tool must help target audiences to understand, use, and integrate HAS productions into their current practices, in a knowledge transfer logic (p. 5-6).
The promoter must be a non-profit professional organisation, a users' association or concerned individuals, or a public body (p. 6).
The labelled tool must be free, openly accessible, disseminated online, and withdrawn if it becomes obsolete or if the HAS publication changes (p. 6).
The attribution of the label follows 4 formalised steps: prior request, admissibility, development according to specifications, and then final submission to HAS for decision (p. 7-8).
Local action tracks
Before starting the writing, check that a reference HAS production already exists or is included in the work programme, to avoid an inadmissible file (p. 5, p. 7).
Formalise from the outset the objective of the tool, the target audience, the expected use, and the added value compared to existing tools, as these elements condition admissibility (p. 5, p. 7).
Plan for an accessible and freely usable format, with simple online publication and dissemination methods, as labelling implies free access (p. 6).
Organise a field post-test before final validation, to verify understanding, usefulness, and actual ownership by the target audiences (p. 8).
Establish a monitoring system for updates and a correction circuit, as the label becomes void if the tool or source publication is modified or outdated (p. 6).
Additional references
High Authority of Health.Labeling and referencing tools to aid appropriation. 2026.HAS - https://www.has-sante.fr/jcms/p_3961958/fr/labellisation-et-referencement-d-outils-d-aide-a-l-appropriation
High Authority of Health.Decision No. 2026.0060/DC/DG of 26 March 2026 from the HAS board adopting the methodological guide…2026.HAS - https://has-sante.fr/jcms/p_3961848/fr/decision-n2026-0060/dc/dg-du-26-mars-2026-du-college-de-la-has-portant-adoption-du-guide-methodologique-attribution-du-label-de-la-has-a-un-outil-d-aide-a-l-appropriation-elabore-par-un-organisme-externe-et-du-document-principes-du-referencement-d-outils-d-aide-a-l-appropriation-des-productions-de-la-has?xtmc=&xtcr=2
FAQ
What is the purpose of this guide?It describes how to obtain the HAS label for an external tool to aid in the appropriation of an HAS production, in order to secure the methodological, scientific, and ethical quality of the support (p. 2, p. 7-8).
What types of tools can be labelled?There is no closed list or imposed format; the tool can be paper, digital, or electronic, except for regulated tools of the LAP/LAD type which are excluded (p. 6).
Who can apply for the label?A non-profit professional organisation, a users' or concerned persons' association, or a public body (p. 6-7).
Must the tool be created from an already published HAS document?Yes, it must be based on an HAS publication and consistent with it; a request can be anticipated, but the work must focus on the production that is ultimately validated (p. 5).
Can the label be granted afterwards?No, the application must be submitted before the tool is developed and no label is granted retrospectively (p. 7, ).
What happens after the submission of the finalised tool?The HAS can issue a favourable opinion, a provisional unfavourable opinion with modifications, or a definitive unfavourable opinion (p. 8).
Does the label remain valid indefinitely?It remains valid as long as the tool and the source publication do not change and do not become obsolete; otherwise, they must be withdrawn or revised (p. 6).
Rewriting in Easy-to-Read Language
The guide in brief
The HAS explains how to label a tool created by an external organisation.
The tool must help to understand a HAS publication.
It must also help to use it in practice.
The guide concerns the health, social, and medico-social sectors.
What the document requires
The tool must be based on a HAS publication.
It must remain true to the content of that publication.
The promoter must be a non-profit organisation, an association, or a public body.
The tool must be free and accessible.
How to obtain the label
The application must be made before creating the tool.
The HAS first checks if the application is admissible.
Then, the tool is drafted according to a specification.
Finally, the HAS decides whether the label is granted.
What to remember
The label is not awarded retrospectively.
The tool must be useful, clear, and easy to use.
If the HAS publication changes, the tool must be updated.
An obsolete tool must be removed.
Cross-analysis
Literacy:Yes, the guide emphasises tools that are "accessible, understandable, useful, and applicable" for different audiences.
Empowerment:The aim is to strengthen the capacity of target audiences to act in their practices.
Participation:The logic of knowledge transfer is designed with stakeholders and target audiences engaged on the subject.
Community health:The document incorporates a collective dimension through associations, learned societies, and professional structures.
Ethics:Ethical rules are central, with an explicit framing of conflicts of interest.
Human rights:The approach aims for tools adapted to several audiences, including users and concerned individuals, which aligns with the principle of inclusion.
Intersectorality:The guide applies to the health, social, and medico-social fields and engages different types of organisations.
Partnership:The HAS provides a designated contact person and structured steps with the promoter.
Combating discrimination:The document does not explicitly address discrimination, but it values accessibility and diversity of audiences.
Reliability of the resource
The resource is institutionally reliable, as it comes from the HAS and was validated by the College on 26 March 2026.
Its scientific relevance is solid from a methodological standpoint, as it is based on a logic of knowledge transfer and explicit ethical rules.
Its operational relevance is high for stakeholders who carry a tool intended to support an HAS production, as the document details the steps, criteria, and concrete obligations.
On the other hand, this guide is prescriptive and does not provide detailed examples of tool design or indicators for evaluating field impact.