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Recently two articles have been published in the Geriatric Medicine section of Frontiers, which have been written by colleagues working at our prestigious project partner DZNE. They are affiliated with JADE Health’s Work Packages 8 and 9 that focus on identifying unmet needs in best practices of emerging European new care models and National guidelines/ good practices on unmet needs in self-care, education, training, and digital tools. 

The first authors are Dr. Maria Isabel Cardona a postdoc, who currently works at DZNE doing research in Dementia, Health Care, Physical Activity, and Aging Research, and Nadia Blecha, a PhD candidate. Both are affiliated to the working group of Prof. René Thyrian in Greifswald. 

Maria Cardona´s article: Evidence-based care pathways for people with dementia and neurodegenerative disorders in Europe: a systematic review of models, integration of digital technologies, and quality indicators is a systematic review that synthesizes European evidence on dementia and neurodegenerative care pathways and develops an evidence-informed conceptual synthesis capturing core functions, domains of care delivery, and cross-cutting implementation principles.  

Eighty-one studies from 11 European countries and multinational initiatives were included in her review. 

Reported pathways conducted within the JADE Health Joint Action, mapped dementia and neurodegenerative care pathways across Europe to identify common approaches, implementation challenges, and opportunities for improvement.  

By synthesising evidence from 81 studies, the review provides a foundation for future JADE Health pilot actions and policy development aimed at strengthening integrated, person-centred care across European healthcare systems. 

Reported pathways varied widely in scope, structure, and implementation. Most focused on early-stage processes (referral, diagnosis, and initial post-diagnostic support), while later-stage elements (long-term management, advance care planning, and palliative care) were less frequently represented in the literature.  

Although care pathways varied considerably between countries, healthcare settings, and neurodegenerative conditions, the review identified several recurring organisational features that appear to support effective care across contexts.  

These included care coordination, multidisciplinary teamwork, case management, active involvement of family caregivers, and structured follow-up throughout the care journey.  

The findings suggest that, despite differences in disease profiles and health system organisation, many of the challenges faced by people living with neurodegenerative disorders are shared, highlighting opportunities for the transfer of good practices and the development of more consistent, integrated approaches to care across Europe.  

 Read full article here

The other publication from Nadia Blecha titled: National guidelines and good practices on unmet needs in self-care, education, training, and digital tools in person-centered dementia care models across Europe – a cross-country comparative analysis – has been written in a collaborative effort by colleagues of Work Package 8. 

People with dementia and their caregivers regularly face unmet needs, not only in dementia care, but also in self-care, education, training, and the use of digital tools. National dementia policies, clinical guidelines, and best practices can improve dementia care and quality of life across Europe.  

The study examined how far current national guidelines and good practices address these domains, and where important gaps remain.  

The objective was to identify unmet needs in national guidelines and good practices on self-care, education and training, and digital tools for people with dementia and their caregivers.  

Methods used: a cross-country comparative analysis was conducted in countries participating in Work Package 9 of the JADE Health Joint Action: Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Ukraine.  

Country partners provided national and regional dementia guidelines and descriptions of good practices, which were systematically reviewed and compared against selected best practices from the EU Best Practice Portal, focusing on alignment and gaps in the three domains. Results: We found substantial variation between countries in the maturity, scope, and implementation of dementia guidelines and good practices. Some countries, such as  

Denmark and Germany, have relatively advanced policy frameworks and clinical guidance, while others, such as Croatia, rely on promising but regionally limited programs, and several, including Bulgaria and Latvia, still depend on fragmented services.  

Across all countries, integrated approaches that combine structured self-care support, systematic education and training, and scalable digital tools were rare. Discussion: Best practices explicitly addressing self-care, education and training, and digital tools remain limited and unevenly implemented. Strengthening and disseminating such practices is essential to guide the further development of dementia care across Europe and to reduce persistent unmet needs among people with dementia and their caregivers. 

Overall, the findings underscore that many European countries have taken important steps in dementia policy, guideline development and local innovation, but that the non pharmacological, person centered domains of self care, caregiver education and digital support remain underdeveloped and poorly integrated. Addressing these gaps offers a concrete opportunity for JADE Health to contribute to more sustainable, equitable and person centered dementia care models across Europe.  

 Read full article here

We Congratulate our colleagues from Work Packages 8 & 9: 

Nadia Blecha, Holst Johannsen, Kuzma-Kozakiewicz, Cwiek, Sarnowski, Danuseviciene, Bartkeviciute, Rosol, Traykov, Mehrabian, Gereš, Korda Orlovic, Litauniece, Moreno García and Prof. René Thyrian.