Hope4Kids to promote more equitable and integrated paediatric palliative care across Europe

The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) is participating in the joint action initiative Hope4Kids – Comprehensive Paediatric Palliative Oncology Care for Children in Europe, a European project designed to strengthen and harmonise paediatric palliative care (PPC) for children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses.

Across Europe, many children live with severe, complex or rare chronic diseases that significantly affect their quality of life and, in many cases, may shorten life expectancy. Paediatric palliative care is not limited to end-of-life care; rather, it is an active and holistic approach that can be provided from the moment of diagnosis and alongside disease-specific or life-prolonging treatments.

This model of care aims to prevent and relieve suffering through effective pain and symptom management, while also providing psychological, social and spiritual support to children and their families.

Access to specialised paediatric palliative care remains unequal across Europe, and these services are often integrated too late or insufficiently into standard paediatric care. Hope4Kids was created to address these challenges through a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach.

The project’s main activities include mapping paediatric palliative care systems across Europe; developing harmonised, evidence-based guidelines; implementing and evaluating four pilot interventions in more than 17 study centres; and designing educational and training programmes for healthcare professionals, families, informal caregivers and educational staff.

In addition, Hope4Kids will establish a European network of paediatric palliative care professionals and promote collaboration with other European initiatives in this field.

The project will run from 2025 to 2029 and is coordinated by the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in the Netherlands. It brings together more than 70 organisations from 23 European countries. Through this international collaboration, the initiative aims to reduce inequalities in access to and quality of paediatric palliative care, ensuring that all children and their families receive timely and comprehensive care regardless of where they live.