EUSEM Call for patient representatives with an interest in Emergency Medicine

Our friends at the European Patients’ Forum (EPF) have kindly asked to assist in their quest in search for patient representatives with a particular interest or experience in Emergency Medicine and who would be interested in participating in the following project:

Breaking Depression – 1 in 4 people will be personally affected by mental health problems, such as depression, during their lives

About this project

Janssen, together with EUFAMI and GAMIAN are developing practical resources to help people living with depression and family carers to have productive conversations with their doctors. In order for these to be useful, we want to understand the real-life experiences of people living with depression.

To do this, we are interviewing people living with depression, family carers and healthcare professionals. The topics that will be discussed with people living with depression include:

• The first time your loved one talked about depression with a doctor or specialist
• Your experience of your loved one’s diagnosis
• Treatment and symptom management
• Advice you have for others in these situations

How would the interview work?

• The virtual interview will be no longer than 1-hour and will take place w/c 19 July (exact date is still TBC). It will likely take place via phone, unless you have a specific preference for an alternative platform.
• The interview questions will be shared ahead of the call.
• You will be interviewed in English by a representative from Langland, a communications agency based in London supporting Janssen with the project roll-out. The call will be recorded for the purpose of insight gathering and notetaking. The recording will be deleted 6 weeks after the interview.

• The insights gathered from the interview will inform the educational resources we will create. All responses you provide will be anonymised and will not be attached to identifiable factors, such as your name or profession.

All Policies for a Healthy Europe – Improving citizen’s well-being

New ways of defining economic and societal goals are emerging. The old GDP-centric model is giving way to approaches that place human and environmental well-being at the heart of government policy. The Sustainable Development Goals are a crucial example of this, as is the growing emphasis on the need to ensure ‘inclusive growth’ and reduced inequalities. If the EU is to respond to the needs and concerns of its citizens, it is vital that the new European institutions should embrace the paradigm shift. Citizens’ well-being must be at the centre of EU policies.

GAMIAN-Europe calls for concrete action to empower those affected by mental ill health

Empowering people affected by mental ill health is beneficial to individuals and their carers. It is also crucial for developing more patient centered, efficient and cost-effective health systems.

This is the key message of a comprehensive Call to Action launched by GAMIAN-Europe today.
The Call, developed with the direct input from a variety of leading EU-level and national (mental) health stakeholders, addresses what can be undertaken concretely to overcome the current pervasive disempowering attitudes and behaviours towards people affected by mental ill health.

GAMIAN-Europe, a patient-driven organisation advocating the rights of those affected by mental ill health, developed this Call as one of its priorities as the huge prevalence and impact of mental health conditions cannot be overlooked: 11 % of the European population experience mental disorders every year. The proportion of national health budgets devoted to mental health ranges between 4% to 13% across the EU.

Mental health conditions go hand in hand with substantial costs and consequences impacting on individuals, families and carers, health and social systems, the economy and society as a whole. As a consequence, there is an obvious need to address these conditions in the most effective and appropriate way. Empowered patients, managing their own care and treatment, can help address this need.

While the notion of and need for patient empowerment has gained ground for physical health conditions in recent years, this is not generally the case for those affected by mental ill health. Likewise, when it comes to physical health, patients are generally viewed as sufficiently competent to self-manage their treatment and care – as opposed to those affected by mental health problems. The Call therefore underlines that most people with mental ill health, most of the time, do have the competence to self-manage their treatment and care.

Clearly, perceptions and services should be changed to reflect the need for more empowerment and patient involvement in the field of mental health. The Call to Action urges the various different categories of stakeholders involved to take appropriate action to effect progress in their specific areas of expertise.

The Call to Action has already been endorsed by some 25 EU-level and national (mental) health-related organisations as well as by a number of MEPs. GAMIAN-Europe is now warmly inviting all interested organisations to also endorse the Call, as widespread support for its principles and recommendations will stimulate and facilitate implementation across the EU.

EUFAMI supports EBC’s Statement calling on the European Commission

EUFAMI supports EBC’s Statement calling on the European Commission, European Parliament, and the Council of the EU to increase the future budget of “Horizon Europe” to a minimum of €120 billion.  The call also emphasises that it is essential that a much higher proportion of the research budget is allocated to the “health” cluster.

Third EU Health Programme – 2018 call for proposals open

The Work Programme 2018 will focus resources on European Reference Networks for rare diseases, health promotion, mitigating cross-border health threats and medical devices. The deadline for submitting proposals is 26 April 2018.

EPF COVID-19 Survey – Your Input is Needed!

EPA guidance paper “Joint European Guidance on the COVID-19 risks of patients with Mental Disorders: an Umbrella Review and Recommendations for Psychiatry and Public Health ”

We are delighted to inform you of the publication of the EPA guidance paper “Joint European Guidance on the COVID-19 risks of patients with Mental Disorders: an Umbrella Review and Recommendations for Psychiatry and Public Health”, where EUFAMI is a joint author.

GAMIAN-Europe – Cancer and Depression project

GAMIAN-Europe are organising a workshop as part of a new project on cancer and depression. They would like to invite members of people with cancer and depression to take part in this workshop to explore their experiences of this comorbidity – specifically the main challenges encountered, diagnosis and detection, and treatment. The main aims of the project are to raise awareness, encourage dialogue and formulate policy recommendations.

The focus group will be between 1.5 to 2 hours long and will include patients. A date is still to be set but will be towards the end of Sept 2022.