With the end of 2021 approaching, the EU Innovative Partnership for Action Against Cancer is also coming to an end. Its main output is an online database of projects, activities and recommendations in various areas of cancer prevention and care, to the development of which the joint workplace of the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses at the Faculty of Medicine of the Masaryk University (IBA FM MU) and the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic (IHIS CR) has significantly contributed.
The Innovative Partnership for Action Against Cancer Joint Action (iPAAC JA) brought together 44 partners from 24 European countries to contribute to the development of innovative approaches in the fight against cancer. The main output is the Roadmap on Implementation and Sustainability of Cancer Control Actions – an online tool that can be described in a simplified way as an overview of possible approaches, activities and recommendations on different aspects of cancer care that either have already been implemented in some European countries, or will be implemented soon. In one place, it is possible to find out how different countries approach primary or secondary prevention, how they organise treatment for cancer patients, or how they provide care for cancer survivors.
The Roadmap is a web-based application that allows users to browse and search for individual projects according to the domain of the cancer programmes they address or the country they come from. The development of the web application, which is available at www.ipaac.eu/roadmap, was carried out by IBA FM MU and IHIS CR in close cooperation with the Belgian health institute Sciensano, whose team was responsible for identifying suitable projects and collecting information about them. Each of these projects is described in a unified and structured way by means of a one-pager; it is really a one-page information containing relevant background information, identifying potential problems and presenting the most important results and experience, but also providing links to detailed materials and contact details of the responsible institutions.
“The Roadmap is a truly unique tool that allows policy makers dealing with cancer programme to draw inspiration from the experience of other countries. The breadth of the presented projects, as well as the practical experience from the implementation of these projects, can significantly help in the implementation in other countries and help cancer patients or strengthen cancer prevention,” says Ondřej Májek from the IBA FM MU, one of the representatives of the Czech Republic in the iPAAC project.
“Our web design team participated in the successful solution of another international project that brought together experts from the fields of oncology, public health, and information and communication technologies. In particular, further deepening of cooperation with leading experts across major European institutions and additional experience in the design, development and implementation of an internationally recognisable output is certainly a benefit for the Faculty of Medicine,” added Martin Komenda, expert guarantor of IT development.
Apart from technical development, the FM MU team also participated in other activities within the iPAAC JA. These included the management of a work package focused on communication (including the website), and a significant contribution in areas where the Czech Republic already has a strong position, i.e. screening programmes and cancer registries.
Brno Ph.D. Competition Talent, which annually supports promising male and female natural sciences and engineering students, brought joy to the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University this year. Among the 25 selected students who received an extraordinary scholarship of CZK 360,000 for three years, six PhD students from this faculty succeeded.
Amidst the hustle and bustle and fatigue of the end of the year, there is an opportunity to pause, reflect on the achievements and step into the next year with gratitude and hope.
