Increasing home dialysis awarded € 3 million: An innovative process for improved renal care

Gothenburg, 21 June 2023 - Cuviva is part of a new cross-border research initiative in health innovations and person-centred care. The project has been awarded almost EUR 3 million by the EU among others. The research focuses on increasing the use of home dialysis, which has been shown to provide significant benefits for patients´ quality of life and health compared to traditional hospital-based dialysis.

Increasing treatment with dialysis at home with a person-centred approach provides medical and economic benefits as well as increased independence and quality of life for the patient with kidney disease. The project has participants in patient associations, corporations, academia and industry from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

Home dialysis brings many benefits

Despite demonstrated benefits and national targets, the proportion of home dialysis has remained consistently low over time in the Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak region, but with significant variations.

The project aims to increase the use of home dialysis as a separate treatment method through a cross-border collaboration and innovative care solutions. By implementing dialysis at home, health is expected to improve, participation in working life will increase, and healthcare costs and environmental impact will decrease. The project is also expected to promote the development of value-creating services and product innovations in home dialysis and other long-term disease processes.

"With the Home Dialysis project we continue to develop the most complete platform for RPM, Hospital at Home and Selfcare and we are so much looking forward following the research performed in the project.” - Henrik Cederqvist, CEO and Co-founder of Cuviva.

The EU programme Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak is the main financier, but project partners in different countries also contribute with their resources.

"A sign that they see great benefit and feasibility in the 3-year project", says Håkan Billig, principal investigator.

Focus on person-centeredness

Dialysis at home is a project based on person-centred care. Person-centred care is an ethic and a way of working that focuses on the person with a disease rather than just the disease itself and it reinforces partnership with the health professionals. Person-centeredness in healthcare is based on evidence and has been shown to reduce costs while improving the quality of care. Promoting health and preventing illness based on people's individual capabilities and needs is the foundation, and with the help of technology and incentives, it is possible to achieve ethical, sustainable and cost-effective high quality care.

Multi-level research

Surveys of needs and tests in the home environment will be carried out to identify obstacles and challenges for home dialysis, as well as information from national quality registers for chronic kidney disease will be compiled to describe the life situation and well-being of users of home dialysis. The project will also analyze policies, legislation, and cultural differences in the participating countries to identify conditions for increased use of home dialysis.

A Scandinavian model

The research is expected to result in concrete innovations for home dialysis. The project is based on partnership and collaboration and by sharing knowledge and experiences across borders, we will create a Scandinavian model for home dialysis and person-centred care at home.

Further information

Decision on grant

EU-programme Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak

Partners: Region Midtjylland, Aarhus university, OsloMet - Storby University, Nordic Medcom AB, Cuviva AB, Fresenius Medical Care Sverige AB University college of Østfold, University of Oslo, The Swedish Kidney association, Sahlgrenska Academy

The project is based on experiences from a collaborative project conducted within the Centre for Person-Centred Care GPCC at the University of Gothenburg.

Countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark

Field of action: Innovation and entrepreneurship

Specific objective: Strengthen innovation capacity with a focus on smart specialisation.

Period: 1 September 2023 - 31 August 2026

Budget: EUR 2 982 294

EU funding granted: EUR 1 422 103

Norwegian funds: EUR 306 032

Partner co-financing: EUR 1 254 159

Lead partner: University of Gothenburg

Contact University of Gothenburg

Professor Håkan Billig
Principal Investigator
hakan.billig@fysiologi.gu.se
+46 708 84 09 76

Contact Cuviva

Henrik Cederqvist
CEO & Co-founder
henrik.cederqvist@cuviva.com
+46 708 24 33 87