European Horizon 2020 projects

DIAdic

Evaluation of Dyadic Psychoeducational Interventions for People with Advanced Cancer and their Informal Caregivers (DIAdIC): An international randomized controlled trial
2019-2023

An advanced cancer diagnosis has an impact on both the person with the disease and the family caregiver. Good psychosocial and educational support can make a big difference and improve quality of life for both. The international DIAdIC project will provide the necessary evidence of the effectiveness of these interventions in different European countries.
The DIAdIC project will develop and evaluate two different psycho-educational interventions for the cancer patient/family carer dyad:

  • FOCUS+, a face-to-face intervention delivered in the home of the patient-caregiver dyad by a specially trained healthcare professional.
  • iFOCUS, a self-administered e-health tool for patient-caregiver dyads.

Coordinator: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium).

Participants: Erasmus universitair medisch centrum rotterdam (Netherlands), King's College of London (United Kingdom), The queen's university of belfast (United Kingdom), Universiteit Gent (Germany), Azienda unita sanitaria locale di reggio emilia (Italy), Kobenhavns universitet (Denmark), The provost, fellows, foundation scholars & the other members of board, of the college of the holy & undivided trinity of queen elizabeth near dublin (Ireland), University college dublin, national university of ireland, Dublin (Ireland), European association for palliative care (Belgium), European cancer patient coalition (Belgium).

More information:
https://diadic.eu/
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825722

MyPal

Fostering palliative care of adults and children with cancer through advanced patient reported outcome (PRO) systems.

2019-2022

MyPal is a research project that aims to improve palliative care for adults and children with cancer. It aims to give people with cancer and their carers the means to record their symptoms more accurately and enable more transparent and timely communication of these to their care providers. MyPal takes advantage of advances in digital health and mobile technology by developing a fun app for children and an ePRO app for adults. The implementation and effectiveness of both interventions will be tested in clinical settings in five European countries with seven partners. The studies will focus on two different patient groups: adults with hematological cancers and children with solid tumors or hematological cancers. The project is scheduled for completion in June 2022.

Coordinator: Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (Greece).

Participants: Geniko Nosokomeio Thessalonikis G. Papanikolaou (Greece), Fraunhofer Gesselschaft zur forderung der angewand ten forschung EV (Germany), Idryma Technologias Kai Erevnas (Greece), University of Lancaster (UK), Masarykova univerzita (Czech Republic), Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), Universita Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Italy), Panepistimiako Geniko Nosokomeio Irakleiou (Greece), Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (Germany), Fakultini Nemocnice Brno (The Czech Republic), Universitat Des Saarlandes (Germany), Promotion Software GMBH (Germany), Atlantis Haelth UK Limited (United Kingdom), European Association for Palliative Care (Belgium), International Children's Palliative Care Network (United Kingdom), Panepistimio Dytikis Attikis (Greece).

More information:
https://mypal-project.eu/
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825872

iLive

Making a global impact on the experience of dying, with people continuing to have a meaningful life until the end.

2019-2022

iLIVE is a 4-year research project that aims to develop innovative, evidence-based and sustainable interventions to alleviate the symptoms and suffering that occur at the end of life in patients with advanced chronic diseases and that of their families.

Coordinator: Erasmus Universitair Medisch Centrum Rotterdam (Netherlands).

Participants: The University of Liverpool (United Kingdom), Klinikum Der Universitaet Zu Koeln (Germany), Lunds Universitet (Sweden), Region Skane (Sweden), Univerzitetna Klinika Za Pljucne Bolezni in Alergijo Golnik (Slovenia), Universitaet Bern (Switzerland), Fundaccion Cudeca (Spain), Helse Bergen HF( Norway), Landspitali University Hospital (Iceland), Pallium Latinoamerica Associacion Civil (Argentina), Stichting Universiteit Voor Humanistiek (Netherlands), Medizinische universitaet Wien (Austria), Arohanui Hospice Service Trust (New Zealand), St Vincent's Hospital (Australia).

More information:
https://www.iliveproject.eu/
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825731

Palliative Sedation

The use of proportional palliative sedation for the relief of refractory symptoms.

2019-2023

The "Palliative Sedation" project (palliative sedation - use of proportional palliative sedation to relieve refractory symptoms) aims to study the use of palliative sedation in several European countries. The project will study current practices and guidelines, and will include a prospective clinical study of palliative sedation. It will also focus on similarities and differences in the clinical and ethical aspects of this practice across Europe, and will formulate recommendations for an updated EAPC framework for palliative sedation.
An e-learning program is planned, as well as a workshop for further development and implementation. Project partners are located in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Romania.

Coordinator: Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum (Netherlands).

Participants: Universidad de Navarra (Spain), PECSI Tudomanyegyetem -University of PECS (Hungary), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Fundatia Hospice Casa Sperantei (Romania), Universitatsklinikum Bonn (Germany), University of Lancaster (United Kingdom), European Association for Palliative Care (Belgium), La Maddalene SPA (Italy), European Cancer Patient Coalition (Italy), Stichting Radboud Universiteit (Netherlands).

More information:
https://palliativesedation.eu
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825700

PD-Pal

Evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a combined person-centred intervention of Advance Care Planning (ACP) and care coordination for people with Parkinson's disease and their family caregiver(s).

2019-2022

The aim of this project is to determine the effectiveness of a community-based outpatient palliative care intervention for people with Parkinson's disease and their family caregivers, compared with usual care organized along the lines of Advance care planning. The effectiveness of this intervention will be assessed in terms of patient records, clinical outcomes, caregiver burden, costs and service utilization. It will also test the feasibility of community intervention in ambulatory palliative care for people with Parkinson's and their family carers in six European countries. The consortium comprises 10 partners from 7 different European countries.

Coordinator: Universita Degli Studi di Padova (Italy).

Participants: Stichting Radboud Universiteit (Netherlands), PD Neurotechnology LTD (UK), Panepistimio Ioanninon (Greece), King's College London (UK), Mediolanum Cardio Research SRL (Italy), University College London (UK), Eesti Liigutushairete Selts (Estonia), Paracelsus Mediznische Privatuniversitat Salzburg - Privatstiftung (Austria), Philipps Universitaet Marburg (Germany), Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum (Netherlands).

More information:
https://www.pdpal.eu/
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825785

Video of the online webinar Advance care planninng and advanced directives.