This call is aimed at better understanding the factors that hamper social inclusion, civic participation, dignity and quality of life for patients and their families. It also seeks to develop more adequate concepts of easily accessible support for people with neurodegenerative diseases at moderate, advanced and end-of-life stages.

Scope

Proposals submitted under this call may include, but are not limited to, the following types of research:

• Deciphering the interplay of physical health and biological, environmental, social and economic factors in determining cognitive decline as well as behavioral and psychological symptoms
• Investigating the specific or changing needs associated with different subtypes of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., different types of dementia), disease trajectories and treatment regimens (e.g., drug-treatment vs. non-drug treatment)
• Identifying transition points of deterioration that occur throughout the disease progression and establishing measures for effective interventions and prevention
• Development of guidelines and harmonisation of standardised operation procedures for the use of socio-cognitive testing across regions and countries in Europe or beyond
• Development of measures for rehabilitation, reablement and effective support for patients and family caregivers to establish person-centred and public health approaches
• Establishing effective models of care by studying quality of care (e.g. in nursing homes) or the effects of prevention or delay of admission to a nursing home
• Identifying suitable housing at different stages of the disease progression, from adapted housing solutions to nursing homes and dementia villages
• Identification and implementation of new digital measurement tools and socio-cognitive digital markers with cross-cultural validation based on patient-reported outcome measures
• Identifying and addressing known barriers in order to e.g., improve the accessibility of services, the development of advanced care planning, the interaction between social and care services as well as between people with dementia, their immediate environment and the public to reduce stigma
• Consideration of ethical issues
• Examining regional differences in the effectiveness and impact of health and social care interventions and developing strategies for evidence-based adaptation and implementation in different settings, regions and systems.

The neurodegenerative diseases addressed in the call include Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease and PD-related disorders, prion diseases, motor neuron diseases, Huntington’s disease, spinocerebellar ataxia and spinal muscular atrophy.

Timeline

Pre-proposals must be submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. CET on 4 March 2025 via the electronic submission system.

Full proposals must be submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. CEST on 24 June 2025 via the electronic submission system.