EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR PALLIATIVE CARE

Their core work

The European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) is the leading professional association advancing palliative care practice, education, and policy across Europe. They bring clinical expertise and pan-European networks to research projects focused on improving end-of-life care for cancer patients and their families. Their H2020 work concentrates on psychosocial support for caregivers, digital health tools for patient-reported outcomes, and evidence-based guidelines for palliative sedation. They also contribute to disability rights and policy research, reflecting their broader advocacy role in healthcare and human rights.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

All four H2020 projects started in 2019, so the timeline is compressed and does not show a multi-year evolution typical of organizations with longer funding histories. However, keyword analysis reveals a thematic broadening: early keywords center on traditional palliative care concerns (sedation, caregiver support, eHealth), while later keywords expand into digital health systems, patient empowerment, clinical studies across cancer types, and even disability rights and human rights policy. This suggests EAPC is moving from purely clinical palliative care toward technology-enabled patient empowerment and cross-disciplinary policy advocacy.

EAPC is expanding from clinical palliative care guidelines toward digital health tools and rights-based policy advocacy, making them increasingly relevant for eHealth and patient empowerment consortia.

How they like to work

EAPC operates exclusively as a participant or third-party partner — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. With 52 unique consortium partners across 17 countries, they function as a broad network connector rather than a project leader. Their role is that of a domain expert and professional network: they bring pan-European clinical expertise, access to palliative care practitioners, and dissemination reach through their membership base rather than managing project execution.

EAPC has collaborated with 52 unique partners across 17 countries, reflecting their role as a Europe-wide professional association with deep connections to clinical research teams, universities, and healthcare organizations across the continent.

What sets them apart

EAPC is not a university or research institute — it is the professional association for palliative care in Europe, representing thousands of practitioners and researchers. This gives consortium partners something no individual research group can offer: access to the entire European palliative care community for dissemination, clinical validation, and policy influence. Their involvement in a project signals clinical relevance and practical applicability to the palliative care field.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PalliativeSedation
  Largest single funding allocation (EUR 140,000) and addresses one of the most ethically complex topics in end-of-life care — proportional sedation for refractory symptoms — through an international multicenter study.
• MyPal
  Bridges palliative care with digital health innovation by developing patient-reported outcome systems for both adults and children with cancer, representing EAPC's move into technology-enabled care.
• DARE
  An unusual expansion beyond palliative care into disability rights, law, and human rights — signals EAPC's growing interest in cross-disciplinary policy advocacy.