Netherlands-based ParkinsonNet initiative plans to expand throughout Europe following a funding win from the European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS).
The award was granted for ParkinsonNet’s ‘Accelerate the implementation of Networkcare for Parkinson’s Disease’ (ACTION-PD ) project, which aims to accelerate the implementation of ParkinsonNet in Europe with a new European ParkinsonNet collaborative implementation strategy.
The funding will boost the roll-out of ParkinsonNet in Europe, with a new strategy to see decentralised, regional leadership of the implementation – rather than being led by the Dutch coordination team.
ParkinsonNet trains and educates healthcare professionals, making them Parkinson’s experts and creating networks of those professionals around and with people living with Parkinson’s. Since it was founded in 2004, it has grown to see more than 4,000 medical and allied healthcare professionals in the Netherlands collaborate with each other and their patients to improve care.
We spoke to Maxime Steppe, project leader and regional manager for 22 ParkinsonNet regions in the Netherlands. As project leader in the ACTION-PD project, she supports both the Dutch team and the European project leaders. She tells us how the funding win can support their work to improve healthcare for people with Parkinson’s across Europe.
Tell us about the ACTION-PD project
“The aim of ACTION-PD is to accelerate the implementation of ParkinsonNet in Europe with a ‘new’ European ParkinsonNet collaborative implementation strategy.
For more than 10 years, the international implementation was led by the Dutch coordination team – the implementation in this project strategy emphasises a decentralised, regional lead, supported by an international consortium.
This will tackle the current barriers in implementation: high costs, dependency on the Dutch ParkinsonNet coordination team who have limited availability, and a time-consuming process. With the help of the funding from Transforming Health and Care Systems, we can implement the ACTION-PD project.”
How will you implement ACTION-PD in other countries?
“We anticipate three mechanisms that will improve efficiency. Firstly, a centralised ‘train-the-trainer’ concept, so that these national experts can train their professionals in their own language and subsequently supervise the network in their own country. Importantly, these trained experts then have the tools and expertise that is required for further nationwide scaling in the respective countries.
Secondly, implementation in four regions in three countries simultaneously, instead of one after the other.
Finally, the implementation teams in different countries will learn from each other, creating a community for lifelong learning and further continuous healthcare improvement.”
What will this new funding help you to achieve?
“Because of the funding we can try out this new concept, and also learn from other initiatives that are also part of this call. In this way we can work together to transform healthcare. “
What does access to funding like this mean to ParkinsonNet?
“Access to funding like this is crucial for us, as it enables us to accelerate the development and implementation of our initiatives.
With this support, we can invest in research, improve care options, and expand our outreach to better support individuals affected by Parkinson’s worldwide.”
How can the European Parkinson’s community support this project?
“We would like to keep the European Parkinson’s community informed about the progress of our project and its impact. It is important for us to ensure transparency and keep everyone engaged with the steps we are taking, both in the development of our initiatives and in the results we achieve.
So follow our social media channels to stay updated on progress, and share our story with your networks.”
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