Call JPI JPND – Care 2025: Health and social care research with a focus on the moderate and late stages of neurodegenerative diseases

JPND launches this joint transnational call for proposals, in which ANR is participating, with the aim to improve the well-being of people with neurodegenerative diseases through medical sciences, social sciences and humanities research. More specifically, proposals will aim to increase understanding of the factors that hamper social inclusion, civic participation, dignity and quality of life of patients and their families and to develop more adequate concepts of easily accessible support for people with neurodegenerative diseases at moderate, advanced and end of life stages.

The research approaches should be integrative, combining relevant scientific approaches (involving, for example, clinicians, epidemiologists, social experts, legal experts, medical and non-medical staff) and actively involve patients. The added value to ongoing activities and the expected impact on future health and social care for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases should be explicitly stated. Proposals submitted under this call may include, but are not limited to, the following types of research:

• Deciphering the interplay of physical health, biological, environmental, social and economic factors in determining cognitive decline and behavioral and psychological symptoms;
   
• Investigating the specific or changing needs in regard to different subtypes of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., different types of dementia), disease trajectories and treatment regimens (e.g., drug-treatment vs. non-drug treatment);
   
• Identifying transition points of deterioration that occur throughout the disease progression and establishing measures for effective interventions and prevention;
   
• Development of guidelines and harmonization of standardized operation procedures for the use of socio-cognitive testing across regions and countries in Europe or beyond;
   
• Development of measures for rehabilitation and reablement and effective support from the perspective of patients and family caregivers to establish person-centered and public health approaches;
   
• Establishing effective models of care by studying quality of care (e.g., in nursing homes) or the effects of prevention or delay of admission to a nursing home;
   
• Identifying suitable housing at different stages of the disease progression, from adapted housing solutions to nursing homes and dementia villages;
   
• Identification and implementation of new digital measurement tools and socio-cognitive digital markers with cross-cultural validation based on patient-reported outcome measures;
   
• Identifying and addressing known barriers to e.g., improve the accessibility of services, the development of advanced care planning, the interaction between social and care services as well as between persons with dementia and their immediate environment and the public (stigmatization);
   
• Consideration of ethical issues;
   
• Unraveling regional differences in the effectiveness and impact of health and social care interventions and developing strategies for evidence-based adaptation and implementation in e.g., different settings, regions and systems.