07/03/2015

ESTEVE AWARDS GRANTS TO THE FOUR BEST PROJECTS FOR CHRONIC CARE IMPROVEMENT

In the Treatment Adaptation / Optimization Area, the grant has been awarded to the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital (Lleida) for the management of patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea in the primary care setting.

In the Therapeutic Inertia Area, the grant has been awarded to the Puerta de Hierro – Majadahonda Hospital for its proposal to create an interlevel multidisciplinary team for chronic care optimization.

In the Treatment Adherence Area, the grant has been awarded to the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario of Vigo for the development of a software application to improve inflammatory bowel disease.

In the Self Care Area, the grant has been awarded to the Fundación Instituto Hospital del Mar en Investigaciones Médicas for the evaluation of patterns of change regarding empowerment of patients with heart failure.

The names of the winners of the 2015 Health Innovation Grants: "Chronic Care", awarded by ESTEVE to the most innovative projects in the field of chronic care, were announced today. The four winning projects were selected among 140 proposals submitted, and will receive a maximum amount of 8,000 Euros to help them carry out projects to improve Non-Communicable Chronic Disease care. The Award Ceremony took place at the VII National Congress on Chronic Care, held this year in Valladolid.

The higher incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, depression, osteoarthritis, cancer, heart failure, high blood pressure, etc. due to progressive aging of the population and to unhealthy lifestyles has a negative impact on the use of healthcare resources. Within this setting, fostering innovation by professionals themselves -the direct protagonists of chronic care- has become a key tool to face this challenge efficiently and ensure the sustainability of the health system.

The 2015 Health Innovation Grants: "Chronic Care" reflect ESTEVE's commitment to chronic care. ESTEVE has a wealth of experience in chronic issues relating to the nervous, renal, cardiovascular, osteoarticular and respiratory systems, among others. ESTEVE's purpose is to improve the chronic patient's quality of life, foster innovation among health professionals, as well as encourage participation among the system's different actors and levels, and promote research, training and chronicity knowledge management.

This successful edition received 140 projects distributed in four areas: Treatment Adaptation / Optimization, Therapeutic Inertia, Treatment Adherence, and Self Care.


Grants to improve the quality of life of chronic patients

In the Treatment Adaptation / Optimization Area, ESTEVE's Health Innovation Grant has been awarded to the project "Management of patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the primary care setting: regional health care network", from the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital (Lleida) and directed by Ferran Eduard Barbé. The purpose is to carry out a study to evaluate the impact on the health system -in terms of clinical response, treatment adherence and costs- of coordinated management by primary care and specialized care of this frequent chronic disease (affecting 10% of the population).

The second project, selected in the Therapeutic Inertia Area, was submitted by the Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda University Hospital (Madrid). The objective of "Interlevel multidisciplinary team for chronic care optimization", directed by Virginia Saavedra, is to define and implement a method for developing a traceability program of the drug therapy record of elder patients admitted to Trauma Services, so as to improve care quality, avoid potential medication errors, optimize prescribed drug therapies, and ensure transmission of information.

In the third Area, Treatment Adherence, the Health Innovation Grant has been awarded to the project "Development of a software application to improve treatment adherence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, based on the preparation of a predictive clinical index of treatment adherence, Project AP-ADEII", from the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI). Directed by María Luisa De Castro, the purpose is to carry out a study allowing to identify variables likely to predict non-adherent behaviors and barriers to medication intake in the scope of this condition, and to develop an application to implement improvements.

Finally, in the Self Care Area, the grant has been awarded to the project "Patterns of change regarding empowerment of patients with heart failure", directed by Paloma Garcimartín from the Fundación Instituto del Mar de Investigaciones Médicas (Barcelona). This proposal focuses on an adaptation of the international reference questionnaire that evaluates the degree of empowerment of patients in the management of chronic diseases -heart failure in this case. This will allow early identification of poorly empowered groups, identification of patterns of change, measurement of the effects of interventions designed to improve self care, and preventive action by means of specific programs.


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