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 Recruiting – Part Time Project Finance Officer!

We are reaching out to you as EUFAMI’s partner EPF (European Patients’ Forum) is currently looking for a part-time Project Finance Officer for 8 months, starting in May to December 2022. 

EUFAMI – Invitation for Project Participation – INVOLVE

Dear Members of EUFAMI,

I am delighted to inform you that EUFAMI will shortly launch a new project aimed at supporting member organisations to advocate nationally with their mental health service to improve the involvement of families in services.

The purpose of this letter is to invite you to participate, in this new project entitled Involve.

Current practice in most mental health care systems means that many relatives, friends, partners, and carers feel excluded from having or giving an informed view of their expectations and experiences in relation to the social needs and treatment of the family member they are supporting. Mental Health Services often, unconsciously and consciously, exclude family members, friends, or other care partners, from the care and treatment process and focus only on the person presenting a mental illness. International research reflects this experience and is supported by EUFAMI’s most recent research on the Value of Caring.

The Involve project has now been approved and funding has been established with our partners Boehringer Ingelheim (International) GmBH.