Project chAnGE: accelerating changes in clinical practice to combat NCDs and support healthy ageing
Every two seconds, someone dies prematurely from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). It’s time to make a difference.
Project chAnGE was set up under the European Innovation Partnership on Active & Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), in collaboration with Upjohn, a Pfizer division. It aims to foster changes in clinical practice that can help to combat NCDs and support healthier ageing
EIP on AHA was launched by the European Commission in 2011 to foster innovation and digital transformation in the field of active and healthy ageing. Almost one fifth of the European population is over 65 and this will rise to nearly a quarter by 2030.
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Project chAnGE has brought together leading experts in medicines adherence, integrated care and prevention of functional decline; specifically, it has provided grant funding to five projects in Europe to power evidence-based shifts in care. These independent grants have been provided by Upjohn, a division of Pfizer focused on the global fight against NCDs.
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About NCDs According to the WHO, “non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behaviours factors. The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.” |
Alessandro Monaco, topic group leader at EIP on AHA, and Shaantanu Donde, Senior Director, Medical Affairs at Upjohn, have co-authored an op-ed in Politico outlining the challenges that Project chAnGE is addressing, and the response that Upjohn and the EIP on AHA are making together.
Authors involved in EIP on AHA have also published an article in the journal Aging Clinical & Experimental Research, “Information and communication technology for increasing healthy ageing in people with non-communicable diseases: identifying challenges and further areas for development.”
As noted by Amrit Ray, Upjohn Global President for R&D and Medical, “By funding projects across Europe that facilitate healthy ageing and reduce the burden of NCDs, Project chAnGE will advance research that can drive improved outcomes for patients.”
The five projects supported by Project chAnGE are:
- Integrated care in frail older adults with non-malignant chronic pain, Prof. Graziano Onder, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), Italy & University of Porto, Portugal
Article: New model for managing pain could ease the burden on patients and health systems
- A multidisciplinary approach to improve adherence to medical recommendations in older adults at hospital, Dr. Caterina Trevisan, Università di Padova, Italy
Article: Could better communication improve adherence to medicines after patients leave hospital
- Healthy ageing through improving cardiovascular risk, Christine Hancock, C3 Collaborating for Health, England and Ireland
Article: Reducing blood pressure can take years off your ‘Heart Age’
- Adherence & quality of life measurement in NCDs, Prof. Ionnis Yfantopoulos, IPOKE (Institute of Political Economic and Social Research - Health Economics Unit) and University of Athens, Greece
Article: How taking your medicines can impact quality of life
- Reduction of hospital visits after discharge through a transitional pharmaceutical care plan for older geriatric inpatients, Prof. Jos Tournoy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Article: Older people & polypharmacy: getting their medication