Work Package Six

Eyes Ears and Mind

To promote well-being in elderly Europeans by delivering a project of exceptional scientific and ethical standards on time and to target

will use a multi-disciplinary approach to fill knowledge gaps about the accurate and timely detection of mental health problems (cognitive and emotional) in elderly people with vision and hearing deficits.

Mental ill health costs the EU €277 billion/year (2005) and yet less than 1/3 of affected people receive any treatment, with marked gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity inequalities in access to and take up of care. This trend is magnified in those who are have the added burden of vision and hearing impairment.

A key limiting issue is the lack of availability of valid and reliable cognitive and mental health assessments for professional use that can transcend communications barriers, such as those resulting from sensory impairment, low education status, and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Importantly, the dependence on a variety of ratings scales and questionnaires in mental health diagnosis and management is substantial because there as as yet very few, if any, objective markers of cognitive/emotional health such as imaging or fluid biomarkers.

Main research questions: 

 How can existing assessments of sensory and mental health function and novel (e-Health) health check tools be adapted, validated and implemented in order to promote mental well being in elderly Europeans, by assisting clinical decision-making in professionals and providing health information to users/caregivers? 

Task 1
  • The Project Coordinator, Dr Iracema Leroi, is responsible for the scientific management of the SENSE-Cog project and ensures that the research complies with the highest ethical standards, including those outlined in the Grant Agreement (Article 34 of the Model Grant Agreement) and the European Code of Conduct for Research integrity. 
Task 3
  • The Coordinator acts as unique interface between the consortium and the European Commission.ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovations principal task is to assist the coordinator in monitoring the compliance of the project with the EU provisions (Grant Agreement and its annexes) and the Consortium Agreement.
Task 5
  • ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation assists the Coordinator in collecting and preparing all financial reports from the participants, and their subsequent submission of the consolidated reports to the European Commission. The Coordinator – together with ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation – ensures planning of subsequent periods, budget and expenditures, budget updates, and correct payments being made to the participants. ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation and Coordinator keep the records and financial accounts to determine at any time what portion of the Community financial contribution has been paid to each beneficiary for the purposes of the project.
Task 2
  • ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation assist the Coordinator to monitor the overall progress regarding milestones and deliverables. Whenever necessary, the management team assists the consortium members in achieving their goals. ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation supports the consortium and coordinator in generating the Project Reports according to the reporting guidelines and the submission to the European Commission on time.
Task 4
  • The Project Office at ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation serves as the centre of communication and helpdesk for all consortium members and help them to overcome any (administrative) barriers. ARTTIC/ARTTIC Innovation provides a set of tools for project management specifically for EU framework projects. They include central document sharing, progress monitoring, accounting and reporting in EU projects.
Task 6
  • An Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) chaired by Angela Aldridge (AAA Screening Programme Manager Greater Manchester and East Cheshire, Wythenshawe Hospital) ensures that SENSE-Cog research complies with the highest ethical standards, including those outlined in the Grant Agreement (Article 34 of the Model Grant Agreement) and the European Code of Conduct for Research integrity.

SENSE-Cog has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 668648.