JA PreventNCD - Joint Action on Cancer and other Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention: Action on Health Determinants

This Joint Action represents an ambitious effort of the European Commission and participating countries to provide strategic guidance, reduce fragmentation and enhance the impact of actions within the field of cancer and NCDs prevention, to ultimately contribute to reduced burden of cancer and other NCDs and inequity across Europe. The Joint Action includes more than 100 partners from 25 European countries (22 Member States plus Iceland, Norway and Ukraine), and it aligns with the objectives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the ‘Healthier Together – EU NCD Initiative’.

Specific objectives of JA PreventNCD are:

• to improve joint capacities of Member States to plan and implement cancer and NCD prevention policies and activities at national, regional, and local level
• to improve data and monitoring system for cancer and NCDs and their common risk factors
• to contribute to reduced social inequalities in cancer and NCDs
• to engage with key actors in the field of cancer and NCD prevention, including decision makers, civil society organizations, professionals, the general population, and patients’ groups.

To achieve these objectives, the consortium analyse opportunities for implementing evidence-based intersectoral policies for preventing cancer and NCDs, and implement pilot studies which will serve as a basis to scale-up best practices, including both population-based and targeted prevention efforts to promote healthy living. In addition, the consortium monitor cancer and NCD mortality and morbidity, exposure to common risk factors, cost of NCD and cancer care, and the impact of health promotion and disease prevention efforts both at a personal and societal level.

Consortium

Partners

• 104 partners 
• 25 countries. 

Structure 

The role of Sciensano in JA PreventNCD

Within the Joint Action, Sciensano is leading Work Package (WP) 10 and co-leading WP4. Sciensano is also involved in other WPs with different tasks and activities: 5, 8 and 9. More specifically:

• Within WP4, Sciensano’s team focuses on understanding how the outcomes of pilots in the project can be integrated for long-term impact into policies at national, sub-national and European level. The team engages with policy-makers in the European institutes, as well as decision-makers at national level.
• In WP5, Sciensano’s team focuses on improving coherence in fiscal policies (task 5.2), improving consumer’s food environment through regulation (task 5.3), product labelling for healthier choice (task 5.5), controlling and countering the effects of advertisements and online marketing (task 5.6), and strengthening regulatory provisions related to pollution, exposure to hazardous substances and radiation (task 5.7).
• In WP8, Sciensano’s team focuses on the research and overview relevant risk factors, data sources, and implementation/scaling potential (task 8.1); monitoring on an individual/clinical level to explore values and possibilities in the use of monitoring data on an individual level (task 8.2); gap analysis, value scores for monitoring risk factors and recommendations for monitoring as well as experience based implementation potential (task 8.5). Moreover, Sciensano’s team leads a pilot action on risk-based projection for cancer and other NCDs, and participates in a pilot on physical activity and sleep.
• Within WP9, Sciensano’s team focuses on analysing the opportunities and obstacles to improving health, health equity and social considerations perspectives of evidence-based in alcohol-related and tobacco-related policies (task 9.3), sustainable food systems and physical activity enhancing healthy environment (task 9.4), performing health impact assessment (task 9.5) and wellbeing economy (task 9.6).
• In WP10, Sciensano’s team integrates the information from genetic determinants, demographic, behavioural characteristics (individual-level factors) into a holistic approach for the prevention of cancer and other NCDs; and will focus on the delivering Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) recommendations for personalized and risk-stratified prevention for cancer and other NCDs based on citizen and patient engagement activities (task 10.2).

Technical information

More info on the JA PreventNCD website

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