07 | Community-level cancer care

Work package 7 improves community cancer care

This work package improves community cancer care through early detection, more coherent continued care and survivor support.

Work package will also

• provide patient pathways for cancer patients in primary/community care
• develop intersectoral approaches for comprehensive cancer patient care
• increase cancer awareness in younger populations at risk, to improve early diagnosis and early onset of treatment
• strengthen collaboration with other levels of care, especially hospitals and specialist cancer outpatient services.

The main challenges the work package has to solve are:

1. To secure a seamless and continued cancer care for patients who are discharged from the first phase of hospital in - or/and out-patient treatment. This is part of a more comprehensive approach to cancer, which is better managed through a greater involvement of primary care.
2. To fully reintegrate into normal life (to the pre-cancer state) after the completion of treatment. This includes a complete professional, family and social reintegration and rehabilitation.
3. To raise awareness through new approaches and methods about cancer with the populations at community level in the early diagnosis phase. The role of primary/community care is essential.

A continued cancer patient pathway through all levels of care needs to be developed, with a special attention to the segments belonging to primary or community care. This will, together with its clinical arm, cover the whole span of cancer patient management.

More information

The National Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia (Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje) NIJZ, Slovenia, is the leader of the work package 7. For further information, contact Tit Albreht, tit.albreht@nijz.si.

Associated partners involved in the work package: 

• Netherlands institute for health services research, NIVEL, receptie@nivel.nl (the Netherlands) 
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, postmottak@adm.ntnu.no (Norway) 
• National Center of Public Health and Analyses, NCPHA, ncpha@ncpha.government.bg (Bulgaria) 

Materials from the kick-off 5 June

The kick-off meeting of the work package was on 5 June 2014 in Brussels. 

The minutes of the meeting (pdf)

Presentations held in the meeting, all as pdf files: 

• Guide coordination (WP 4) 
• NCPHA 
• NIVEL 
• NTNU