Five projects advancing innovation in primary and community care

Healthcare is an important and pressing issue in Switzerland and Europe: How can it be made more effective and brought closer to the people? This twofold question was the focus of the third Joint Transnational Call of the European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS, see box). It was launched in November 2024.

Advancing innovative solutions

The SNSF, together with 33 other funding organisations across Europe and in partner countries beyond Europe, joined this third call. “The goal is to support research teams working to strengthen primary and community care in Europe”, says Cornelia Sommer, Scientific Officer at the SNSF. “The initiative aims to advance innovative solutions that can improve healthcare systems both nationally and across borders.”

An independent evaluation committee reviewed the 60 research proposals that were submitted to this call. Twenty-nine projects were selected for funding.

Five projects with Swiss participation

The SNSF is supporting six researchers at Swiss research institutions with 3.27 million francs. They are actively involved in five of the projects funded as part of this competitive programme, which is co-funded by the EU. The projects with a Swiss link include:

• Help for women with breast cancer: The international research project PRIME-Onco aims to improve care for women over 65 years of age who are receiving long-term hormone therapy after breast cancer. Kevin Selby from the University Centre for General Medicine and Public Health (Unisanté) in Lausanne is developing a suitable survival model for this purpose.
  He is recording existing approaches, developing patient-centred interventions and testing them in different environments. Finally, he formulates practical recommendations. In doing so, he relies on participatory research and cooperation with patients. His results are to be incorporated into European, Swiss and Canadian health policy.
  

• Better prevention of strokes and dementia: Lukas Sveikata from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Geneva University Hospitals and Katarzyna Wac from the University of Geneva are researching cerebral small vessel diseases (CSVD). Despite CSVD being one of the main causes of dementia, strokes and loss of mobility in the elderly, currently there is no effective treatment. Risk factors such as high blood pressure are often inadequately controlled.
  The ENHANCE-CSVD project is developing a digital platform that combines networked sensors, remote monitoring and personalised care. The project team also includes Gilles Allali from the University Hospital of Lausanne and Mayssam Nehme from Geneva University Hospitals.
  

• Test for antibiotic resistance: The ENABLED project addresses the urgent global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), highlighted by the WHO. Rapid, accurate point-of-care tests are essential to detect resistant infections, yet remain underdeveloped. Andrew de Mello from the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich focuses on multidrug-resistant gonorrhea, refining a patented CRISPR-based biosensor and creating practical models for decentralised testing. The project combines technology and implementation strategies, validating clinical performance and designing adoption roadmaps.
  

• For sustainable healthcare systems: Stefan Boes from the University of Lucerne will conduct research as part of the new EU project CoCare in the coming years. The project aims to bring about a paradigm shift: away from fragmented, provider-centred care, towards fair, efficient and sustainable health systems that meet the needs of an ageing population as well as people with chronic diseases.
  The project examines successful care models in five countries and promotes international cooperation. As part of the project, Stefan Boes will investigate the health economic aspects of Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) in Switzerland and contribute the results to the European country comparison.
  

• Promoting mental well-being: As part of the PRIME project, Claudine Burton-Jeangros from the University of Geneva wants to rethink the role of primary care in promoting mental well-being. In collaboration with project partners in Milan and Paris, PRIME is investigating how general practitioners, psychologists, social services and community actors can work together more effectively. Using a participatory action research approach, the project aims to develop ideas and courses of action together with experts, local organisations and citizens, and to set up community laboratories and observatories. The aim is to provide early and accessible support in different contexts.