PERSON CENTERED CARE. A new cross-border research project involving health innovations and person-centered care has been awarded almost EUR 3 million by financial backers including the EU. The research will focus on increasing the use of home dialysis, which has been shown to provide significant benefits in terms of patients’ quality of life and health compared to traditional hospital-based dialysis.
Increasing home dialysis treatment with a person-centered approach provides medical and economic benefits, as well as enhancing both independence and quality of life for kidney patients. The project’s participants include patient associations, businesses, academia, and industry from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
Home dialysis brings many benefits
Despite the demonstrated benefits and the national targets, the proportion of home dialysis has remained consistently low in the Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak region, with significant variations. This project aims to increase the use of home dialysis as an independent treatment method through cross-border cooperation and innovative care solutions. Carrying out dialysis at home is expected to improve health, increase participation in working life, and reduce healthcare costs and environmental impact. The project is also expected to promote the development of services that add value, as well as product innovations within the field of home dialysis and other forms of long-term care.
A focus on person-centered care
The home dialysis project is based on person-centered care. Person-centered care is an ethical approach and a way of working that focuses on the person receiving care, not just on the disease. Person-centered healthcare relies on evidence, and has been shown to reduce costs while improving the quality of care. Promoting health and preventing disease and ill-health based on the individual’s opportunities and needs is the foundation, and technology and incentives can be used to help achieve ethical, sustainable, cost-effective, high-quality care.
Multi-level research
Needs assessments and concrete tests in the home environment will be carried out to map the barriers and challenges involved in home dialysis, while information from national quality registers of chronic kidney disease will be compiled to describe the life situation and wellbeing of home dialysis users. The project will also analyze policies, legislation, and cultural differences in the participating countries in order to identify opportunities for increased use of home dialysis.
Creating a Scandinavian model
The EU program Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak is the main financial backer, but the project partners in the individual countries are also contributing their own resources.
“This shows that they see great benefits and implementability in the three-year project,” says project manager Professor Håkan Billig.
The research is expected to result in concrete innovations for home dialysis. The project is based on partnership and collaboration, and sharing knowledge and experiences across borders will help to create a Scandinavian model for home dialysis and person-centered care at home.
BY: LOVISA AIJMER
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