WELCOME to the final CHRODIS PLUS Newsletter
All good things come to an end: CHRODIS PLUS will hold its closing online conference on 27 October 2020. This conference will illustrate the impact that CHRODIS PLUS has had on public health systems across EU member states over the past 3 years, so make sure to register and join us for a day of riveting discussions about chronic diseases and how to tackle them! Find more about the conference in this edition of our newsletter.
This is also our last newsletter. But before we bid you our final farewell, we’d like to share with you the interview we conducted with Rokas Navickas, our Scientific Coordinator, in which he talks about the direct benefits of CHRODIS PLUS for European citizens and much more. Recently, we also saw some of the CHRODIS PLUS results published in reputable journals and outlets. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on social media for information on the closing conference and other useful information.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our newsletters as much as we’ve enjoyed preparing them for you!
Your Chrodis Plus communication team:
Zuzana Matlonova
Zoltan Aszalos
Eva Csecsodi
Maria Stambler
CHRODIS PLUS coming to an end: Closing conference on 27 October 2020
Over its 3-year lifespan the aim of CHRODIS PLUS Joint Action (2017-2020) has been to support member states in overcoming the burden of chronic diseases by promoting policies and practices that have proved successful in the past. Further refinement and EU cross-border sharing of these tested policies and good practices was the core idea behind this pan-European project.
The Chrodisian community at work over the past 3 years
CHRODIS PLUS has implemented 21 pilot projects aimed at testing tools and good practices for certain chronic diseases, and held 16 policy dialogues (14 national and 2 EU-level ones). It has brought together over 50 partners from 21 European countries.
Highlights of the past 3 years include the mid-term conference held in Budapest in May, 2019 that hosted over 200 participants, as well as the EU level policy dialogue on employment and chronic conditions that took place at the European Parliament in November, 2019. At the same time, we were also busy with pilot site visits to Greece, Malta, Croatia, Finland, Ireland, and to Seville and Zaragoza in Spain, among others.
Site visit to St. Michael School in Malta where elements of the ToyBox best practices were implemented
In order to support policy development, national policy dialogues were held, addressing urgent topics such as the role of AI and BI solutions in medical decision support solutions in Hungary, the Alternatives for effective implementation of Article 35 of the Spanish Public Health Act 33/2011 or the regulation of Advertisement of Food and Beverages to Children in Portugal.
Chrodis Plus policy dialogues in Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Brussels
All good things come to an end: CHRODIS PLUS will hold its closing online conference on 27 October 2020. This conference will illustrate the impact that CHRODIS PLUS has had on public health systems across EU member states over the past 3 years. It will focus on showing how the good practices, models and tools implemented by the project can be tailored to various national and local settings across Europe. You can expect to hear high level speakers addressing the most urgent topics about the health of Europeans along with 3 main presentation sessions followed by roundtable discussions covering the topics of ‘Creating health-promoting communities and workplaces’, ‘Working towards quality and care for European citizens’ and ‘Policy development’.
Join us Chrodisians at our final event and receive first-hand information about the project’s achievements within the field of chronic diseases. Registration to the conference is required and can be submitted here. 
Interview with Rokas Navickas, Scientific Coordinator
Over the course of CHRODIS PLUS, our project directly reached more than 8,000 EU citizens – and counting! In a recent interview, we asked our scientific coordinator Dr. Rokas Navickas to talk a bit more about the project’s results and recall a personal story of a European who has benefited from the Joint Action.
The special CHRODIS PLUS issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
We are always proud and excited when our hard work is recognized and disseminated. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published three articles focusing on our work and its fruitful results.
We are happy to share with you the brief summaries of the articles as a little teaser for you to click the links and read the full versions of the papers.
The burden of chronic disease in Europe continues to grow. A major challenge facing national governments is how to tackle the risk factors of sedentary lifestyle, alcohol abuse, smoking, and unhealthy diet. These factors are complex and necessitate intersectoral collaboration to strengthen health promotion, counteract the social determinants of health, and reduce the prevalence of chronic disease. European countries have diverse intersectoral collaboration to encourage health promotion activities. In the Joint Action CHRODIS PLUS, success factors for intersectoral collaboration within and outside healthcare (which strengthen health promotion activities) were identified with a mixed method design via a survey of 22 project partners in 14 countries and 2 workshops. In six semi-structured interviews, the mechanisms underlying these success factors were examined. The conclusion is a set of seven recommendations that are considered to be essential for fostering intersectoral collaboration to improve health-promoting activities. Learn more in the article down below:
The paper on “Success factors of intersectoral collaboration to strengthen health promotion activities within and outside healthcare” was called “Recommendations for Effective Intersectoral Collaboration in Health Promotion Interventions: Results from Joint Action CHRODIS-PLUS Work Package 5 Activities “
Multimorbidity (the coexistence of several chronic conditions in a patient) represents a great challenge for healthcare systems and society. The Integrated Multimorbidity Care Model (IMCM) was recently designed within our Joint Action and promotes healthy ageing across the life cycle (CHRODIS) to ensure the continuity of care for patients with multimorbidity. Those of you, who are following us and are subscribed to our Newsletter, probably know that IMCM was implemented in five European pilot sites in Spain, Italy, and Lithuania. The effect of these pilot interventions was assessed pre- and post-implementation by 17 healthcare managers, using the Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (ACIC) measure, and by 226 patients with the Patient Assessment of Care for Chronic Conditions (PACIC+) survey.
Learn more about the paper based on the analyses of PACIC+ and ACIC questionnaires from all Multimorbidity care model implementation pilot sites: “Assessing the Pilot Implementation of the Integrated Multimorbidity Care Model in Five European Settings: Results from the Joint Action CHRODIS-PLUS “
The correct management of patients with multimorbidity remains one of the main challenges for healthcare systems worldwide. In this published study that we are happy to share with you we analyse the existence of multimorbidity patterns in the general population based on gender and age. Our team leading the implementation of IMCM conducted a cross-sectional study of individuals of all ages from the EpiChron Cohort, Spain (1,253,292 subjects), and analysed the presence of systematic associations among chronic disease diagnoses using an exploratory factor analysis. They identified and clinically described a total of 14 different multimorbidity patterns (12 in women and 12 in men), with some relevant differences in the functions of age and gender. The number and complexity of the patterns was shown to increase with age in both genders. We identified associations of circulatory diseases with respiratory disorders, chronic musculoskeletal diseases with depression and anxiety, and a very consistent pattern of conditions whose co-occurrence is known as metabolic syndrome (hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidaemia), among others. These results demonstrate the potential of using real-world data to conduct large-scale epidemiological studies to assess the complex interactions among chronic conditions. This could be useful in designing clinical interventions for patients with multimorbidity, as well as recommendations for healthcare professionals on how to handle these types of patients in clinical practice.
You may view the full version of the article here: “ Multimorbidity Patterns in the General Population: Results from the EpiChron Cohort Study “
Besides the articles presented above, there are still two more to be published that are currently under preparation. Topic-wise, they relate to the outcomes of the work stream on Quality Criteria recommendations and the work stream focused on sustainability and integration into national policies:
“Use of JA CHRODIS recommendations and criteria to develop pilot actions in healthcare. Baseline data from five countries.” and “Shaping policy and practice addressing chronic disease through national policy dialogues in CHRODIS PLUS”
Stay in the loop through our social media channels
The final CHRODIS PLUS newsletter does not mean that news about the JA are also coming to an end – quite the opposite! With preparations for the closing conference in full swing, we’ll be more active than ever on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, bringing you the most important information before, during and after the conference.
Additionally, we frequently share partner content that addresses hot issues in the sphere of chronic diseases to broaden your understanding of just how multifaceted this health problem is. And, of course, there’s also plenty of uplifting content that will motivate you to stay fit, healthy and happy! So be sure to follow us!
