Advancing Supportive Cancer and Palliative Care (CARE)
CARE focuses on developing the care of people with cancer
Cancer is one of the most common causes of death (World Health Organization 2020). Without rapid actions, cases are expected to increase in Europe by 24 percent by the year 2035. The increasing number of people getting cancer will pose a significant challenge for public health, both in Finland and internationally, and will touch upon the lives of many.
At the same time, the treatment results have improved, and the mortality rates decreased. However, the research and development work have focused in particular on medicine, although cancer patients’ care and its development require multiprofessional and multidisciplinary research and cooperation.
In the research and development work in this specialized field, the focus should be on the whole Cancer Care Continuum, from the prevention of cancer to early detection, high-quality treatment, rehabilitation and support for survivorship and the promotion of quality of life of the people affected by cancer and beyond and in palliative care at the end of life when no curative treatment is available.
Developing the care of cancer requires strong specialist competence and network cooperation
In Finland, the care of cancer has been systematically developed for more than ten years, and the Finnish Cancer Center with its regional cancer centers has already proceeded from plans towards implementation. However, from the perspective of the health service system, it is essential to notice that the prevention and care of cancer and support for survivorship is not only limited to specialized health care services.
Care of the people with cancer and its development require strong specialist competence and multiprofessional cooperation across organizational boundaries both in Finland and internationally. The prevention of cancer and ensuring the high level of care of people with cancer are central action areas in Europe (EU4Health 2021-27, Cancer Mission, EU Beating Cancer Plan 2021).
The research group Advancing Supportive Cancer and Palliative Care (CARE) is both nationally and internationally networked. RDI cooperation is also made with the different research groups at Turku University of Applied Sciences, by fostering multidisciplinary and multiprofessional cooperation, for example with the fields of culture and technology.
Research group members
Interests of the research group
The particular interests of CARE include:
- National and international research and development work in the whole Cancer Care Continuum, by combining applied clinical research and development of special competence
- Pedagogic research and development for the Centers of excellence in cancer care
- Developing person-centric services in the care of people affected by cancer
- Development of cooperation between primary and specialized health care services in future well-being services in the cancer care continuum
- Interprofessional, transformational and authentic leadership and mentoring
- Attractive cancer centers and well-being of the staff in a demanding operational environment in health care (cancer care units, palliative care)
- Ensuring high-level competence by promoting expertise and different clinical career paths
