Palliakid Partners Come Together in Florence

Members of the Palliakid research collaborative gathered in Florence, Italy, on March 9-10 for the project’s 3rd General Assembly Meeting, hosted by Meyer Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria. The EU-funded project is focused on evaluating digital interventions for children and young people with palliative care needs across Europe.

Palliakid Project Progress

During the two-day meeting, representatives from each of the project’s eight workstreams discussed progress over the past year, future plans, and potential challenges. The Palliakid project aims to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of new digital interventions for children and young people with palliative care needs in different European healthcare systems, while also exploring factors influencing engagement from children and families.

Development of several digital resources is underway, including:

• An Early Identification System – a clinically validated tool for timely identification of children, adolescents, and young adults needing palliative and end-of-life care.
• A ‘Hexcom’ tool – for comprehensive assessment of the needs of children and their families, including a symptom tracker.
• An ‘IMPACT’ tool – a personalized interdisciplinary care plan, co-created for children and families, incorporating spiritual and cultural aspects alongside medical needs. Different interfaces are being developed for the child, family, and professionals, with a version for siblings also in development.

Five clinical sites have contributed case studies for use in an extended reality (XR) capacity-building training system, designed to help professionals learn how to use the new tools in various scenarios.

Trial Phase and Collaboration

The Palliakid suite of digital tools is now nearing completion and will soon be tested in a trial phase across clinical sites in Denmark, Finland, Italy, Latvia, and Spain. A collaborative of 19 organizations is supporting the research, including the development of the study protocol, recruitment materials, and training for each site. Expert input ensures rigorous ethics and data management practices.

Positive engagement from young people and families has been a key feature of the project, through the Family Advisory Board and co-creation of project materials at each clinical site.

Dissemination efforts include an Instagram takeover by the Copenhagen team, webinars, and roundtable events. A recorded presentation on Palliakid by Project Coordinator Sergi Navarro was presented at the ICPCN Conference in Manila and will be featured at the EAPC Congress in Prague.

As the project progresses, learnings from the clinical sites will inform the development of policy and clinical guidelines. The ICPCN is responsible for creating a sustainability plan for scaling up the Palliakid resources across Europe and beyond.

To find out more, visit the project website: Home – Palliakid