Primary health care: participation in EU joint project
How can we provide better care for people in their familiar surroundings while at the same time ensuring that the healthcare system is fit for the future? A team in Lucerne is addressing this question in collaboration with researchers from four European countries.
The aim of the transnational project “European Co-Care Learning Ecosystems” (CoCare) is to gain insights into how the needs of an ageing population and of people with chronic diseases in Switzerland and across Europe can be better met within a fair, efficient, sustainable and continuously learning healthcare system. The project brings together research teams from Finland, Sweden, France, Italy and Switzerland. Professor Stefan Boes from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine (GMF) has been awarded the contract to participate. Lucerne’s involvement is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Focus on advanced practice nurses APN
Each of the five teams is examining a successful healthcare model from their respective countries. The Lucerne research project focuses on the use of advanced practice nurses (APNs) in primary care. APNs are nursing professionals with a master’s degree in nursing. There are currently around 180 APNs working in Switzerland (as of the end of 2024). Their integration into GP practices is intended to help secure primary care provision and counteract the growing shortage of GPs.
In the canton of Lucerne, several pilot projects have been carried out in recent years and were scientifically coordinated by the Centre for Family Medicine & Community Care (ZHAM&CC). Professor Stefan Boes explains: “We can now build on our previous research and expertise for the EU project." Accordingly, Lucerne’s CoCare contribution is based at ZHAM&CC, where the centre’s co-director, Thekla Brunkert, Assistant Professor of Interprofessional Primary Care, is involved as a project partner.
European knowledge exchange
CoCare focuses not only on research within individual countries, but also on collaboration across national borders. Stefan Boes explains: “By contributing their findings to the overall project, the five teams enable cross-national comparison and fruitful European dialogue.” One of the project phases led from Lucerne involves pooling the results from the different countries and presenting and discussing them in workshops with stakeholders from research, practice and policy. Stefan Boes’ chair and the GMF have extensive experience with this type of stakeholder dialogue. To further strengthen international exchange, short visits between participating institutions are also planned for early-career researchers during this phase.
Thekla Brunkert adds: “In the long term, the CoCare project aims to demonstrate how integrated, community-oriented care can contribute to providing people with holistic and efficient care close to their homes, while also relieving the pressure on healthcare professionals.”
- Title of the overall project and the Lucerne sub-project: “European Co-Care Learning Ecosystems” (CoCare) / “Scaling Advanced Practice Nursing in Swiss Primary and Community Care”
- Head of the Lucerne sub-project: Professor Stefan Boes
- Project participants and collaborators: Lucerne sub-project: Associate Professor Thekla Brunkert (project partner) / Zentrum für Hausarztmedizin & Community Care (Centre for Family Medicine & Community Care), one paid doctoral position (job advertisement). Overall project: Dr Petri Uusikylä (Finland; main coordinator), Dr Carl Savage (Sweden), Professor Achille Tchalla (France), Professor Federico Lega (Italy)
- Project duration: 3 years
- Approved funding for Lucerne's participation (rounded): CHF 254,000
Communiqué from the SNSF on the approved Swiss participations
