IMPACT-EU: Advancing Psychosocial Care and Support Across Europe
IMPACT-EU is working to improve psychosocial care and support for children with cancer and their families across Europe. With 17 partners from 14 European countries, coordinated by SIOPE, this co-founded project by the EU brings together scientific expertise, patient advocacy, and practical collaboration to create more equitable, compassionate, and effective support. The project launched in October 2025 though a Kick-off meeting in Utrecht for two days of presentations and discussion. The event reflected strong shared commitment and created valuable momentum for the work ahead.
A central part of the project is the development of European Standards for psychosocial care, led by the Medical University of Vienna. This work aims to bring together experts and patient advocates to define a common European framework for high-quality psychosocial care. Several consensus meetings already took place, marking an important step toward this shared set of standards.
Another major strand of work focuses on mapping psychosocial services across Europe, led by the Princess Máxima Center. A scoping review has already collected more than 200 sources from 36 countries, providing an important overview of current practice and existing gaps. The project is also preparing a hospital survey, planned for summer 2026, and continues to look for contacts from psychosocial care teams in several countries to ensure broad European representation. In parallel, CCI Europe with all NGO partners of the project is developing an Interview guideline to capture the important role of NGOs and patient organizations in psychosocial care and support from outside the hospital.
Training and capacity-building are also key priorities. Led by KU Leuven, IMPACT-EU is developing an e-learning module for healthcare professionals and a training day for psychosocial specialists. These initiatives respond to the clear need for more targeted education in psychosocial care. The project is also preparing peer support training, informed by input from patients, parents, advocates, and professionals gathered through workshops and consultations, led by CCI Europe
Implementation has also begun. Led by Children’s Health Ireland, several pediatric oncology centers are piloting psychosocial standards in practice, including early risk screening with the PAT tool and therapeutic resources such as My Logbook and Little Nirvana. A first site visit in Dublin brought project partners together for productive training days and marked an important step toward putting the standards into action.
Finally, communication, dissemination, and advocacy are helping to extend the impact of the project. Led by CCI Europe, this work has already established IMPACT-EU’s visual identity and is preparing policy activities, white papers, and a first national policy event in Dublin in November 2026. These efforts will help ensure that psychosocial care becomes a more visible and recognised part of cancer treatment across Europe.