Synergies
EQUICARES seeks to foster synergies with relevant projects and other regional, national, and international initiatives. This includes leveraging connections within the project’s Network of Interest, participating in EU and international events, and organising collaborative activities with sister projects.
A list of initiatives and sister projects that the Equicares intends to work with is presented below
SP-EU: Social Prescribing to promote and improve access to health and care services for people in vulnerable situations in Europe (Project ID: 101156500)
SP-EU is transforming healthcare access for vulnerable populations across Europe. Many individuals face challenges accessing healthcare due to social barriers, particularly those in vulnerable situations. General practitioners often encounter health-related social problems but lack the means to address them effectively. Social prescribing (SP) bridges this gap by linking patients to non-clinical community support through trained link workers. While SP shows promise in integrating health and social care, it remains underexplored for marginalised populations.
With this in mind, SP-EU will assess the potential of SP to promote and improve access to health and care services for people in vulnerable situations, focusing on three primary target groups: LGBTIQ persons, refugees and first-generation immigrants, and older adults living alone.
SP-EU follows a participatory and mixed-methods approach: SP adaptations will be co-created with the target groups, to adapt them to their specific needs and social contexts. A pragmatic randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the adapted SP to improve access by randomizing 1,776 patients in eight EU countries to receive SP or care as usual. A qualitative analysis in five European countries will explore enabling and limiting factors to the implementation of SP from different stakeholders’ perspectives. Additionally, SP-EU will actively communicate and disseminate results and translate them into policy action.
SP-EU will enable health care systems to implement SP as a scalable, safe, cost-effective and people-centred solution to provide equal access to sustainable care. By doing so, SP-EU will contribute to the transformation of European health care systems into more equitable, community-based, people-centred and integrated models of care.
Website: https://social-prescribing.eu/
Contact: wolfram.herrmann@charite.de (Project Lead), sonja.leissner@concentris.de (Project Management Office)
SERENA Project – Assessing and improving access to health and social care SErvices for children RENdered vulnerable by Abuse
SERENA is a European initiative focused on improving access to health and social care for children who are victims of maltreatment, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse as well as neglect. Its main goal is to strengthen the detection of child maltreatment, reduce its long-term consequences, and lessen its societal impact. To do this, the project will examine existing care pathways and identify the barriers and inequalities that affect access to services before and after maltreatment is recognized. This includes both the physical and mental health needs of children and the broader financial implications for society.
The project uses a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative interviews with adult survivors and professionals in three countries, and quantitative analysis of administrative data in seven countries, supplemented by child protection data from 26 European nations. These insights will be synthesized with the help of stakeholders and survivors to co-develop a shared understanding of the current gaps and define priority actions. Based on this, SERENA will produce policy recommendations that are both operationally and economically feasible, with the potential to be implemented across EU member states. The expected outcomes include improved detection, more equitable service provision, and reduced overall costs related to child maltreatment.
Website: www.serena-horizon.eu
Contact: communication@serena-horizon.eu
HPV-FASTER-Implement is a European project focused on improving cervical cancer prevention by addressing persistent inequalities affecting vulnerable populations.
Although HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening programmes have successfully lowered mortality rates, their impact has plateaued due to limited accessibility among at-risk groups, further widening health disparities across Europe. Recognizing that vulnerable populations face complex barriers to both mental and physical health, the project will build a Europe-wide knowledge framework to understand these challenges and track their evolution.
Working closely with stakeholders, particularly representatives from vulnerable communities, HPV-FASTER-Implement will design and implement strategies that combine HPV vaccination with HPV-based cervical cancer screening. The project will also develop targeted health education interventions, communication activities, and support services to meet the specific needs of high-risk groups. Through stakeholder engagement, health literacy promotion, vulnerability mapping, mathematical modelling, and implementation research, the project will collect and analyse data to identify gaps and opportunities in prevention strategies.
The ultimate goal is to translate this knowledge into policy recommendations that strengthen national prevention programmes with interventions tailored to vulnerable populations. By offering an innovative combined prevention approach and aiming for a 50% uptake among women at risk, HPV-FASTER-Implement seeks to accelerate progress toward cervical cancer elimination and significantly reduce health inequalities in Europe.
Website: www.hpv-faster-implement.eu
The VICCIY Initiative
The Virtual Interventions and Community Connections for Indigenous Youth (VICCIY) Initiative is dedicated to supporting the mental health and well-being of Indigenous youth in rural and remote communities across Saskatchewan, Canada. Rooted in community-driven approaches, the initiative combines in-person events with innovative virtual reality (VR) technology to create accessible, culturally relevant wellness resources.
Importantly, VICCIY uses these tools to help preserve and promote Indigenous cultural knowledge, ensuring that cultural teachings and practices remain an integral part of youth wellness strategies.
By working directly with Indigenous youth and their communities, VICCIY aims to foster resilience, amplify voices, and bridge gaps in equitable mental health care.
Website: vicciy.ca
Contact: vicciy@saskpolytech.ca
COMFORTage
COMFORTage is a joint effort involving medical experts, including neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, nurses, and memory clinic specialists, alongside social scientists, humanists, technical experts such as data scientists, AI specialists, and robotics experts, as well as Digital Innovation Hubs, toward the establishment of a pan-European framework for Community-based, Integrated, and People-Centric prevention, monitoring, and progression management solutions for age-related diseases and disabilities.
The overarching aim of COMFORTAGE is to empower care service providers to develop and implement personalized, integrated care prevention and intervention strategies targeting dementia and frailty. These efforts are expected to result in significant and demonstrable improvements in individuals’ well-being and Quality of Life. Moreover, the project seeks to enhance the health and digital literacy of all stakeholders, thereby contributing to the reduction of health disparities in modern communities and promoting healthy and active age-living.
Website: https://comfortage.eu/
Contact: gmanias@unipi.gr (Project Coordinator), imh@intras.es (Dissemination Manager)
2D-BioPAD
2D-BioPAD aims to introduce a fast and cost-effective, non-invasive, reliable, digitally and graphene-enabled Point-of-Care (PoC) in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) system for supporting the early diagnosis and progression monitoring of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) directly at primary healthcare settings.
To achieve this, and tackle the scientific challenge, the technological and market gap of PoC IVD for AD, 2D-BioPAD leverages the unique properties of 2D materials, such as graphene and its derivatives. Towards that direction, 2D-BioPAD goes beyond the state-of-the-art of its 2D Materials’ pioneer consortium to deliver a graphene-based PoC IVD system that will
• introduce a versatile surface chemistry that combines nano and DNA technologies towards improved biocompatibility, stability, as well as high sensitivity and specificity for enhanced (bio-)sensing;
• be able to reliably identify and quantify in real-time and simultaneously up to 5 AD biomarkers in blood samples effectively supporting healthcare professionals in early diagnosis;
• offer an easy to use and understand digital interface with key metrics and insights regarding the measured results; and
• employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the overall system implementation.
Website: https://2d-biopad.eu/
Contact: info@2d-biopad.eu , gkouma@qplan-intl.gr (Communication Manager)
