OVERVIEW

Europe’s aging population and the increasing prevalence of chronic, life-limiting illnesses are driving a rapid rise in the demand for compassionate end-of-life care at home. However, the European healthcare sector currently faces alarming structural challenges.

Fragmented training provision, workforce shortages, and inconsistent qualification recognition across countries heavily hinder service quality and restrict the cross-border mobility of care professionals. Training standards vary widely between Member States, leaving many healthcare workers underprepared to fully address the complex, multifaceted clinical, psychosocial, and ethical needs of patients and their families.

To bridge these critical gaps, DIGNITY brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of higher education institutions, vocational providers, healthcare
organizations, and research centers from Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Lithuania and Cyprus.

The project leverages the existing specialized training expertise of its partners to co-design a comprehensive, competency-based curriculum aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). By incorporating flexible blended learning modules, cross-border mobility schemes, and automated recognition through micro-credentials, the project removes structural barriers to ensure a resilient, adaptable, and deeply human-centered healthcare workforce.

The main objective of the DIGNITY project is to design and implement a comprehensive, standardized training framework in the palliative care sector, equipping learners with essential skills to improve the quality of life for individuals receiving end-of-life care at home, with a focus on humanized care.

To develop and implement a Joint Transnational VET Qualification in “Palliative Care and DIGNITY at the End of Life at Home” (ISCED Level 3 or 4), ensuring the uniform consistency and quality of palliative care education.

To enhance collaboration between healthcare institutions and educational providers, fostering innovation in training models and addressing the current and future needs of the palliative care workforce across the EU.

To strengthen the professional development and training opportunities for healthcare workers, ensuring that they are equipped with up-to-date knowledge and skills in delivering compassionate and effective end-of-life care at home.

To contribute to the EU’s strategy for improving healthcare and reducing labour shortages by ensuring the availability of a highly skilled palliative care workforce that can meet the growing demand for end-of-life care services.

To promote the exchange of best practices and innovative approaches to palliative care at home among healthcare professionals and VET providers through mobility schemes, while ensuring that qualifications and learning outcomes are automatically recognized across the EU, thus facilitating workforce mobility, career development, and continuous professional development within the palliative care sector.

To raise awareness about the importance of palliative care and the role of trained domiciliary professionals in improving the quality of life for individuals at the end of life at home, while engaging policymakers and stakeholders in the development and recognition of joint qualifications in the healthcare sector.

METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH

The DIGNITY project is built on a logically sequenced, three-tiered methodology, designed to ensure that the final joint qualification is directly responsive to the real-world realities of the
healthcare market:

Research: The project begins with a comprehensive mapping and needs analysis phase, executing desk and field research through multi-stakeholder focus groups and online questionnaires. This initial stage establishes a shared baseline of current training offers and sectoral gaps across Europe, providing an empirical foundation for a strategic roadmap and socio-professional occupational profile mapped to ESCO guidelines.

DEVELOPMENT

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IMPLEMENTATION

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