The RAPHAEL project is part of the call for the Health cluster of pillar 2 of the Horizon Europe programme, and has obtained total funding worth €6,207,365.5, of which €392,337 is destined for the research group led by Cristina Monforte.  

Coordinated by Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, the initiative is driven by a consortium of 15 European universities, research centres and hospitals, including UIC Barcelona.

As explained by Dr Monforte, co-director of the WeCare Chair and Vice-Rector for Academic Organisation and Teaching Staff at UIC Barcelona, said that “The RAPHAEL project was created with the aim of integrating a palliative care approach for patients suffering with heart failure, via remote home monitoring, with the goal of improving patient autonomy and quality of life”.

Heart failure is a very common condition in Western European countries. It limits the functional capacity of people who suffer from it, and accounts for 10% of mortality rates for women and 3% for men. “Palliative care would contribute to considerably improving the quality of life of patients and their families, however, access to comprehensive care is currently scarce and often comes late”, added the research team from the WeCare Chair. “With the help received, the RAPAHEL consortium will offer palliative care to patients with heart failure in Europe, including people in more remote and rural areas, thanks to personalized care that includes home monitoring. This will also contribute to reducing hospitalization and readmission rates”.

Monforte leads this project, which is a national and international benchmark in research focusing on the final stage of life, an area that is also the focus of work carried out by the University's WeCare Chair.

UIC Barcelona currently has around 100 competitive projects underway. Including the RAPHAEL project, five UIC Barcelona projects have already been funded by the Horizon Europe programme, showing the scope of the University’s international research and its high level of competitiveness in Europe.