Building a pan-European network to bridge gaps in geriatric medicine education: the PROGRAMMING COST Action 21,122-a call for endorsement

Sofia Duque^#¹, Karolina Piotrowicz^#², Tahir Masud³, Anne Wissendorff Ekdahl⁴, Anna Marie Herghelegiu⁵, Tajana Pavic⁶, Evrydiki Kravvariti⁷, Nenad Bogdanović⁸, Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume⁹, Nicolas Martínez Velilla¹⁰, Regina Roller Wirnsberger¹¹, Michael Vassallo¹², Anastassia Kossioni¹³, Rachael Frost¹⁴, Jurate Macijauskiene¹⁵, Meltem Koca¹⁶, Athanase Benetos¹⁷, Mirko Petrovic¹⁸, Marina Kotsani¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital CUF Descobertas; Preventive Medicine and Public Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. asbd@edu.ulisboa.pt.
² Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Jakubowskiego 2 Str., 30-688, Kraków, Poland.
³ Department of Health Care of Older People, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Institution of Clinical Sciences Helsingborg, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁵ Geriatrics and Gerontology Department - "Ana Aslan" National Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
⁶ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center Zagreb, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁷ Postgraduate Medical Studies "Physiology of Aging and Geriatric Syndromes" School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
⁸ Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Department for Neurobiology, Caring Science and Society - NVS, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁹ Internal Medicine and Geriatric Department, University Hospital of Marseille, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France.
¹⁰ Department of Geriatrics, Navarre Health Service (SNS-O), Navarre University Hospital (HUN), Navarrabiomed, Navarre Public University (UPNA), Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain.
¹¹ Unit for Education and Training, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
¹² University Hospitals Dorset, Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, England, UK.
¹³ Department of Prosthodontics, Dental School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
¹⁴ School of Public and Allied Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
¹⁵ Department of Geriatrics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
¹⁶ Geriatrics Clinic, Turkish Ministry of Health Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
¹⁷ Pôle "Maladies du Vieillissement, Gérontologie et Soins Palliatifs", INSERM DCAC u1116, Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, 54000, Nancy, France.
¹⁸ Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine and Paediatrics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
¹⁹ Hellenic Society for the Study and Research of Aging, Athens, Greece.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39971850
PMCID: PMC12014839
DOI: 10.1007/s41999-024-01137-0

Building a pan-European network to bridge gaps in geriatric medicine education: the PROGRAMMING COST Action 21,122-a call for endorsement

Sofia Duque et al. Eur Geriatr Med. 2025 Apr.

. 2025 Apr;16(2):411-423.

doi: 10.1007/s41999-024-01137-0. Epub 2025 Feb 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital CUF Descobertas; Preventive Medicine and Public Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. asbd@edu.ulisboa.pt.
² Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Jakubowskiego 2 Str., 30-688, Kraków, Poland.
³ Department of Health Care of Older People, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Institution of Clinical Sciences Helsingborg, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁵ Geriatrics and Gerontology Department - "Ana Aslan" National Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
⁶ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center Zagreb, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁷ Postgraduate Medical Studies "Physiology of Aging and Geriatric Syndromes" School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
⁸ Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Department for Neurobiology, Caring Science and Society - NVS, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁹ Internal Medicine and Geriatric Department, University Hospital of Marseille, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France.
¹⁰ Department of Geriatrics, Navarre Health Service (SNS-O), Navarre University Hospital (HUN), Navarrabiomed, Navarre Public University (UPNA), Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain.
¹¹ Unit for Education and Training, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
¹² University Hospitals Dorset, Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, England, UK.
¹³ Department of Prosthodontics, Dental School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
¹⁴ School of Public and Allied Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
¹⁵ Department of Geriatrics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
¹⁶ Geriatrics Clinic, Turkish Ministry of Health Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
¹⁷ Pôle "Maladies du Vieillissement, Gérontologie et Soins Palliatifs", INSERM DCAC u1116, Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, 54000, Nancy, France.
¹⁸ Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine and Paediatrics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
¹⁹ Hellenic Society for the Study and Research of Aging, Athens, Greece.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39971850
PMCID: PMC12014839
DOI: 10.1007/s41999-024-01137-0

Abstract

Background: The growing challenges of population aging create a pressing need for specialized geriatric medicine services to effectively address the complex health needs of older adults and influence supportive healthcare policies. Older patients may present clinical complexity with multimorbidity, disability, and/or frailty, necessitating a shift from the traditional organ-oriented clinical approach to a holistic, patient-centered care model.

Rationale of the action: Despite recommendations from the World Health Organization and scientific and professional societies, geriatric medicine is not universally recognized as a distinct specialty in Europe, and education in this field remains heterogeneous. A notable discrepancy in the availability of geriatric services and education in this field across European countries can be found. Many healthcare professionals lack basic training in geriatric medicine, contributing to fragmented care and poorer health outcomes. To address these challenges, it is essential to integrate geriatric medicine into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula for all healthcare professionals.

Expected outcomes: The COST Action 21,122 PROGRAMMING (PROmoting GeRiAtric Medicine in countries where it is still eMergING) initiative aims to promote geriatric medicine by developing targeted educational goals and programs and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. This initiative aims to assess the current state of geriatric medicine education and identify both global and local educational needs for developing clinical skills among healthcare professionals. In addition, it seeks to establish consensus on core curricula tailored to local contexts and disseminate findings and recommendations to stakeholders, policymakers, and the public. By uniting diverse stakeholders, PROGRAMMING aspires to create sustainable changes in geriatric care across Europe.

Keywords: Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Education and training; Geriatric medicine; Healthcare education; PROGRAMMING; Patient-centered care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: All authors declared no financial and personal conflicts of interest.

Figures

**Fig. 2**
Graphical abstract: PROGRAMMING workflow

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. https://www.eugms.org/home.html Accessed 18 May 2024
1. https://cost-programming.eu/ Accessed 18 May 2024
1. Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the COST Action “PROmoting GeRiAtric Medicine IN countries where it is still eMerGing” (PROGRAMMING) CA21122, https://cost-programming.eu/useful-documents/ Accessed 18 May 2024
1. Longevity TLH (2021) Care for ageing populations globally. Lancet Healthy Longev 2:e180. 10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00064-7 - PMC - PubMed
1. Lloyd-Sherlock P, Kalache A, Kirkwood T, McKee M, Prince M (2019) WHO’s proposal for a decade of healthy ageing. Lancet 394:2152–2153. 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32522-X - PubMed

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Building a pan-European network to bridge gaps in geriatric medicine education: the PROGRAMMING COST Action 21,122-a call for endorsement

Affiliations

Building a pan-European network to bridge gaps in geriatric medicine education: the PROGRAMMING COST Action 21,122-a call for endorsement

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials

Miscellaneous