FP7 Health Call Opens

The second Health call under the Seventh Research Framework has been published (OJ C226 of 03 September 2008). The call presents opportunities for researchers in mental health, with topics of interest in the fields of neurosciences, health service delivery and public health and health information.

 

The calls opened on September 3rd and close on December 3rd 2008.

The overall objective of the Health Theme is to improve the health of European citizens and increase the competitiveness and boost the innovative capacity of European health related industries and businesses, while addressing global health issues including emerging epidemics.

There are several topic areas within the workplan and call for the single stage process that could be of interest to the mental health field:

These fall under three main areas:

  • Research on the Brain and Related Diseases, Human Development and Ageing (Section 2.2)
  • Quality, Efficiency and Solidarity of Healthcare Systems Including Transitional Health Systems (Section 2.3)
  • Enhanced Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (Section 3.3)

A summary of the main relevant topics in these areas appears below. Further information on the call is available at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm.

The full health workplan is available to download below.

Summary of areas relating to mental health:

2.2      Research on the Brain and Related Diseases

This topic is primarily concerned withneuroscience research. Topics of interest include:

  • The identification of genetic and environmental interactions in schizophrenia (HEALTH-2009-2.2.1-2)
  • Optimising current therapeutic approached to schizophrenia (HEALTH-2009-2.2.1-3)
  • Exploring the psychosocial factors of brain disorders, including mental illness (HEALTH-2009-2.2.1-5)

3.2        Quality, Efficiency and Solidarity of Healthcare Systems

This area relates to health systems, and particular to ways in which health services can exchange knowledge and practice. It also looks at the ways health services can adapt to issues relevant across the EU, including migration and the changing demographic profile.

Topics of interest include:

  • Organisation of dementia care (HEALTH-2009-3.2-1)
  • Healthcare outcomes and cost-benefits. (HEALTH-2009-3.2-2)
  • Primary care quality linkage to costs. (HEALTH-2009-3.2-3)
  • Impact of cross border collaboration on health services. (HEALTH-2009-3.2-4)
  • Scoping study to address the methodological challenges of quantifying the socio-economic burden of brain diseases in the enlarged European Union compared to other major diseases. (HEALTH-2009-3.2-6)

 

3.3.         Enhanced Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

This area is of particualr relevance to the public health aspects of mental health, and the moving forward of the Mental Health Pact objectives. It explicitly calls for projects on child and adolescent mental health, and calls for consideration of the life-course approach to mental health in calling for cohort studies to give a logitudinal picture of the health of EU citizens at key life stages.

The text below is taken directly from the workplan (attached below):

The objective of this area is to provide scientific evidence for the best public health measures in terms of life styles, work and living circumstances and interventions at different levels and in different contexts. Focus will be on the wider determinants of health and how on the basis of new knowledge they interact at both the individual and community level (e.g. diet, stress, tobacco, alcohol and other substances, physical activity, cultural context, socio-economic and environmental factors). In particular, mental health will be addressed in a life-course perspective.

Expected impact: Projects should advance the state of the art in the field of health promotion and primary prevention research and enhance cooperation between researchers in Europe and other geographic regions to promote integration and excellence of European research in the area. This research should provide the evidence base to empower the individual to change and sustain healthy behaviour and the policy and decision makers at European, national and local level to develop and implement effective public health interventions and incorporate health goals in the definition and implementation of all policies. Findings should be applicable to the general population and be validated in different settings, translating research into practice. Where applicable scientific methodologies that allow tools for benchmarking and comparative analysis at the European level will be considered an asset.

 HEALTH-2009-3.3-1: Child and adolescent mental health. FP7-HEALTH- 2009-single-stage. Identify and evaluate interventions to prevent mental disorders in children and young adolescents. Identify interventions that are most effective in mitigating risk factors of developing mental health disorders and that strengthen mental health protective factors and help avoid crisis. Specific needs relating to specific contexts should be addressed, as well as different settings such as families, schools, sports and leisure activities. This research should define a set of effective intervention methods and programmes for children at risk and/or their families. Funding scheme: Collaborative Project (Small or medium-scale focused research project).

HEALTH-2009-3.3-2: Environmental prevention of substance abuse by adolescents. FP7-HEALTH-2009-single-stage. Analyse the effect of current environmental strategies for the prevention of substance abuse (tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs) on adolescents in Europe. Determine the effect on early adolescent smoking and alcohol use, the relation to its effect on use of illicit drugs, and the effect on long term substance use, and its additional effect when combined with behavioural measures, particularly in vulnerable population groups. This research should advance knowledge on the effectiveness of environmental prevention strategies, the role of normalisation around drug use and associated problem behaviours, and the spin-off effect of environmental prevention strategies on illicit drug use. Funding scheme: Collaborative Project (Small or medium scale focused research project).

HEALTH-2009-3.3-3: Ageing cohorts. FP7-HEALTH-2009-single-stage. Undertake multidisciplinary cohort work addressing the health of two ageing population groups, one group of ~50 to 70 years of age, and one group of ~65 to 85 years of age, to focus on developing robust health-related data at the EU level over a substantial time period - ~15 years. Such research should build on and complement work to-date (such as the European SHARE data set) to empower researchers and policy makers in various domains (healthcare, social care, pension provision) to take informed decisions. EU Member States should be covered and relevant European Commission services (Directorate-General for Health and Consumer protection, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) and EUROSTAT be consulted. Funding scheme: Collaborative Project (Large-scale integrating project).

HEALTH-2009-3.3-4: Birth/Mother - Child Cohorts co-ordination. FP7- HEALTH-2009-single-stage. The focus should address the challenge of assessing and preparing for developing robust health data for birth/mother child cohorts over a substantial time period - +/- 15 years - at the European Union level, and in doing so identify a strategic approach to child health research as well as addressing policy concerns about children life trajectories, such as reducing health inequalities. EU Member States should be covered and relevant European Commission services (Directorate-General for Health and Consumer protection, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) and EUROSTAT be consulted. Work should take stock and evaluate existing registers and value provided by existing birth/mother child cohorts, taking into account if possible prenatal and perinatal variables, identify key areas and gaps in knowledge and develop recommendations for research action at the European level in the context of child health. Funding scheme: Coordination and Support Action (Coordinating Action).

HEALTH-2009-3.3-5: European child health research platform. FP7- HEALTH-2009-single-stage. Address the diversity and fragmentation in child health research in Europe in a an inclusive multidisciplinary way, identifying existing research programmes in Member States, recent advances and identification of gaps to explore road maps for the future of child health research in Europe. Funding scheme: Coordination and Support Action (Coordinating Action).

 

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