The PAIR project launches its third edition to connect young people and people living with Parkinson’s through citizen science

PAIR (Parkinson Intergenerational caRe) is a citizen science project led by the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) that has officially launched its third edition with a public event bringing together secondary school students, people living with Parkinson’s disease, researchers, education professionals and civil society organisations. The project is coordinated by Dr Ariadna Laguna, main researcher of the Neurodegenerative Diseases Group at VHIR, and involves a multidisciplinary team including clinicians, nurses, teachers, patient associations and specialists in impact and public engagement.

Developed in Barcelona, particularly in neighbourhoods with higher social vulnerability surrounding the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, such as El Carmel, PAIR is based on an intergenerational Service Learning (SL) approach. Through this model, more than 100 young people aged 15 to 17 and people living with Parkinson’s co-create and take part in emotional support activities, while also acting as citizen scientists. Participants are involved in designing questionnaires, collecting data and jointly reflecting on results related to well-being, empathy and attitudes towards Parkinson’s disease.

A shared space for care, learning and research

The initiative addresses two closely interconnected challenges. On the one hand, many people living with Parkinson’s experience social stigma, isolation and emotional vulnerability, factors that can negatively affect their quality of life and disease management. On the other hand, young people growing up in socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts often have limited access to meaningful scientific experiences and opportunities to engage in health research. PAIR responds to both challenges by creating shared spaces of care, learning and knowledge generation, where lived experience and scientific research come together.

“PAIR creates spaces where very different people can meet, care for one another and learn together, while producing knowledge that is useful both scientifically and socially,” explains Dr Ariadna Laguna. “This intergenerational exchange has a very positive impact, both on the emotional well-being of people living with Parkinson’s and on the development of empathy and critical thinking among young people,” she adds.

New educational centres and programme expansion

Following two previous editions, the educational centre that had already taken part in the project, IE Coves d’en Cimany, is once again participating in this third edition. In addition, two new educational centres have joined the initiative for the first time: IE Mirades and ACIS Artur Martorell. This expansion increases the programme’s reach within the target neighbourhoods of Barcelona and strengthens its community-based approach. Depending on the educational centre, the number of sessions planned ranges between 10 and 13 throughout the school year.

“The continuity of the school that had already participated and the incorporation of new institutions allow us to consolidate the project within the territory and move towards a model that is sustainable over time,” notes Dr Laguna. “The goal is for PAIR to move beyond being a one-off experience and become a structural initiative within educational and community health frameworks,” she emphasises.

PAIR has been part of the IMPETUS Accelerator, funded by the European Commission, for two consecutive editions. In 2024, the project received Kickstarting support, which enabled the consolidation of an initial pilot phase and demonstrated its social and emotional value. This work was also recognised at European level with an honorary mention from the EU Prize for Citizen Science 2025, highlighting PAIR’s contribution to inclusive and participatory research. More recently, the project was selected once again by the IMPETUS Accelerator in 2025 to receive the Sustaining grant, aimed at supporting the scaling up and consolidation of the initiative at local level.

This new edition represents a key step towards consolidating and expanding the programme, with a long-term vision of embedding PAIR as a stable local initiative rather than a one-off action. Alongside the incorporation of new educational centres, the project will strengthen its STEAM dimension through the adoption of an artistic methodology developed within the framework of Barcelona’s Pla de Barris. This approach will enable the co-creation of an artistic product designed to disseminate experience-based knowledge about Parkinson’s disease.

From a research and evaluation perspective, PAIR continues to build a solid evidence base through collaboration with the Research Group on Interaction and Social and Educational Development (GRISIJ) at the University of Barcelona. This collaboration focuses on analysing learning processes, empathy, social connection and stigma associated with ageing and illness. This territorial collaboration aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project and its integration into existing educational and healthcare structures.

The launch event, held at the VHIR Central Building, brought together more than one hundred attendees and included a guided visit to the VHIR facilities and laboratories. Participants had the opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the research environment in which studies on Parkinson’s disease are carried out, reinforcing the link between biomedical research, education and citizen engagement.