Callout for Cork volunteers for €6.1m EU healthcare trial
Pictured at a site visit to Ireland to plan the ValueCare pilot are (l-r): Dr Andrew Darley, University College Dublin; Stefania Machionne, ISRAA, Italy; Kyra Ubaghs, Erasmus University Medical Center, The Netherlands; Sara Ceron, ISRAA, Italy; Prof. Hein Raat, Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands.
A €6.1m EU funded healthcare project is seeking people in Cork over the age of 65 to take part in a new trial to identify how to support Ireland’s ageing population and help older people to live well and independently in the community.
The Cork-Kerry region is one of seven pilot sites for ValueCare, an EU Horizon 2020-funded project that is investigating how technology can promote self-management and lifestyle coaching as people grow older.
The Irish trial is being led by University College Dublin, in association with the HSE, Age Friendly Ireland, and University College Cork, with other trials taking place in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, and The Netherlands.
The ValueCare team hopes to improve the quality and efficiency of care for older people, by personalising care plans and embracing digital technology. The project is developing innovations to help increase participants’ understanding of their health and maintain or improve quality of life.
Over the course of the pilot, which runs to 2024, up to 240 participants will take part in the programme, and spaces are still open.
Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Andrew Darley said the ValueCare Project is an “amazing opportunity for older people to help us identify how best to support older people in the community”.
“At the core of our project is the concept of ‘co-design’. We are not building a service or technological solution by ourselves and assuming it will be helpful; we are collaborating directly with older people to build a solution through their experience and feedback. Their values are at the heart of everything we do,” he added.
Dr Darley said that getting involved in the ValueCare Project is “very straightforward”.
“Anyone interested just has to fill out a short questionnaire, which allows us to screen them for suitability to begin supporting them as soon as possible afterwards,” he said.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the trial can get in touch by phone on 087 115 1502 or email ethan.mcgrath@ucd.ie.
