The call to submit a grant proposal for an extension of JANE was launched in the autumn 2023 and the application proved successful. JANE2 is funded by the EU4Health program, will run for four years from November 2024, and is also coordinated by Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (Italy). By leveraging the groundwork laid by JANE, JANE2 focuses on establishing and scaling these NoEs, promoting European collaboration, and integrating innovative healthcare practices. These efforts are designed to improve the quality of cancer treatment, foster innovation, and align with EU health policies. Other Joint Actions (JA) networks will be relevant collaborating partners, such as the Network of Comprehensive Cancer (CRANE), the Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructure in Europe (CCI4EU) and European Reference Networks (ERNs).
Given the longer timeframe of JANE2, the overall goal is more ambitious and comprehensive. The NoEs will provide services to the cancer community, also including health care providers directly reaching out to patients. This implies that NoEs should formally incorporate other entities in addition to health care providers, i.e., scientific, and professional societies, patient advocacy groups, research institutes devoted to items such as molecular biology, public health, health economics, etc. to improve better access to health care services and improve the quality of these services. To succeed, a somewhat different structure than in JANE will be established. A Network-on-Network model will be established to ensure that a broad spectrum of knowledge and resources in the form of clinical guidelines, knowledge, recommendations, and initiatives to align services and education / competence are disseminated to multiprofessional health care providers, managers, policy makers, and stakeholders. Research collaboration is an inherent part of this.
OUS leads the NoE on Palliative Care (PC) with the main objectives being to make PC available to all European cancer patients, according to their needs. This means that PC should be an inherent part of European cancer care, regardless of level of care (primary, secondary, tertiary). Further, the use of the bearing principles of PC, a patient-centred focus acknowledging the patient’s needs and preferences apply to all who are in contact with the patient, regardless of profession and education. As the patient-centred focus is central in other WPs in JANE as well, we have established contact with the WPs in Poor prognosis and Survivorship Care. Further, our partners in WP6 counts 31 cancer institutions representing 21 European countries. Professional, lay, and patient organisations within and outside the JANE2 consortium will be contacted, with ESMO and EAPC already being onboard.
In JANE2, we will focus on the same areas as in JANE, but with a more comprehensive approach aiming to harmonise and operationalise guidelines and indicators for provision of patient-centred palliative care based on patients’ needs. This includes systematic collection and use of patient-reported outcomes (paper&pen or digitally), structuring the care in pathways or care plans that are tailored to the individual patient’s needs, symptoms, and preferences and the clinical situation. These plans must be predictable, flexible, and accessible to patients, families, and health care providers. As the actual care is to be conducted by different health care providers and not being duplicated, they represent a shift in mindset and in the organisation of care. Adaptation to the actual institution, culture, and country is necessary. An initial task in JANE2 is therefore to map the organisation and conduct of care at the different partner sites.
Educational curricula and requirements in Europe will also be mapped, in order to provide recommendations on how to reduce the heterogeneity in the European specialist, graduate and basic educational programs. International collaboration and harmonisation will be sought. This also includes our aim of enhancing research in palliative and patient-centred care.
The JANE2 project underlines the necessity of firm governance, proof of concept, and organizational changes to deliver efficient, patient-centred, and cost-effective care. By addressing these elements, the NoE supports the integration of evidence-based palliative care into routine cancer care, increasing access for more patients across Europe.
Shaping the EU Networks of Expertise on cancer.
