EU PAL-COPD partners to present key findings at EAPC 2025 Congress

We are excited to announce that our partners from the International Observatory on End of Life Care, Lancaster University (ULANC) will be presenting at the 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care 2025 in Helsinki, Finland, on 29-31 May. We in the EU PAL-COPD project are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase the project, particularly the research results from the ULANC team on Cultural adaptation and standardisation from the UK to other European contexts and international public and patient involvement.

Didar Akkaya will be presenting the following posters during a dedicated poster session:

• A palliative care intervention for people with advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Cultural adaptation and standardisation from the UK to other European contexts

Didar: “We adapted the UK-based ICLEAR palliative care model for advanced COPD to six European healthcare settings through a multi-stage participatory process, ensuring both cultural relevance and fidelity. This collaborative effort offers a practical roadmap for tailoring care interventions across diverse international contexts.”

• How to set up an international public and patient involvement (PPI) group to adapt a UK-based intervention to other European countries?

Didar: “Here we present how we established an international Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) group to adapt a UK-based COPD care model for use across Europe. This work share our experience, and highlights practical strategies to engage diverse patient voices in cross-country research while addressing cultural, language, and recruitment challenges.”

VUB at EAPC
We are also proud to announce that Prof. Koen Pardon (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) will represent the EU PAL-COPD project in the EU Projects session on Saturday 31 May, from 9:00 to 10:30 am. His talk will address:

• Title: Cultural adaptation of ICLEAR: Optimizing palliative care in COPD across Europe

• Topic: Cultural sensitivity and cultural adaptation in EU-funded palliative care research

• Aim: To illustrate how the ICLEAR palliative care intervention was culturally adapted across diverse European healthcare systems, sharing practical challenges, solutions, and insights from stakeholder engagement

These presentations represent a significant milestone in our collaborative research journey and reflect the strong interdisciplinary and cross-national work carried out within the EU PAL-COPD project.

The EAPC Congress is organised by our EU PAL-COPD partners from the European Association for Palliative Care, to bring together the world’s leading palliative care experts, providing a key international platform to learn, network and share knowledge and research. The event offers a high-quality educational experience, allowing participants to discover both innovative long-term strategies and solutions to challenges they meet in everyday practice. The congress is also a key opportunity for networking, affording those involved the opportunity to exchange ideas with hundreds of leading professionals and remain at the forefront of the latest developments in their field. This gathering is a crucial event in helping to shape the future of palliative care around the globe.