Measuring What Matters: Putting Quality of Life Measurement Into Practice

People living with and beyond cancer often say that quality of life matters as much as clinical outcomes. Yet quality of life is still not measured consistently and their experience is frequently not reflected in healthcare planning or policy decisions.

 

On 29 October, the EUonQoL project will bring together patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, policymakers and others to explore how quality-of-life measurement can become a stronger part of cancer care and decision-making across Europe.

 

The event will also launch the EUonQoL Policy Recommendations, setting out concrete actions to strengthen the use of harmonised, patient-reported data.

29 October 2026 15:00 - 16:30 CEST

Online

 Apply for Registration

EUonQoL Stakeholder Forum 2026

People affected by cancer may experience physical symptoms, emotional challenges and changes to their social and everyday lives throughout and beyond treatment.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) provide a way of capturing these experiences directly from patients. By systematically measuring symptoms, functioning and wellbeing, PROMs can help identify unmet needs, strengthen patient-centred care and provide evidence to inform research, healthcare planning and policy.

However, approaches to quality-of-life measurement remain fragmented across Europe. Making it more consistent and comparable could help ensure that what matters to patients is better reflected in how cancer care is designed and evaluated.

The EUonQoL project is helping address this challenge by developing a patient-centred toolkit to support more harmonised quality-of-life measurement across Europe.

Forum participants will hear how the kit was developed, how patients and caregivers contributed throughout the project, and what comes next.

The event will also launch the EUonQoL Policy Recommendations, setting out specific actions to strengthen quality-of-life measurement across Europe and make harmonised patient-reported data a more integral part of cancer policy and decision-making. The Forum will provide an opportunity to discuss these recommendations with different stakeholders and explore how they can each contribute to their future implementation.

Registrations are open now.

Speakers

  • Cinzia Brunelli EUonQoL Project Coordinator
  • Stein Kaasa Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead
  • Gijs Geleijnse Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA
  • Caitriona Higgins EUonQoL Co-Researcher, Nurse and Patient partnership lead at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre
  • Carina Dantas EUonQoL Co-Researcher, CEO and Chief Investigator at SHINE 2Europe, Co-Director of the SHAFE Foundation
  • Inke Minnée-van Braak EUonQoL Co-Researcher

Speakers

  • Cinzia Brunelli EUonQoL Project Coordinator
  • Stein Kaasa Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead
  • Gijs Geleijnse Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA
  • Caitriona Higgins EUonQoL Co-Researcher, Nurse and Patient partnership lead at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre
  • Carina Dantas EUonQoL Co-Researcher, CEO and Chief Investigator at SHINE 2Europe, Co-Director of the SHAFE Foundation
  • Inke Minnée-van Braak EUonQoL Co-Researcher
  • Cinzia Brunelli EUonQoL Project Coordinator Read Bio
  • Stein Kaasa Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead Read Bio
  • Gijs Geleijnse Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA
  • Caitriona Higgins EUonQoL Co-Researcher, Nurse and Patient partnership lead at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre
  • Carina Dantas EUonQoL Co-Researcher, CEO and Chief Investigator at SHINE 2Europe, Co-Director of the SHAFE Foundation
  • Inke Minnée-van Braak EUonQoL Co-Researcher

Speakers

  • Cinzia Brunelli EUonQoL Project Coordinator
  • Stein Kaasa Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead
  • Gijs Geleijnse Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA
  • Caitriona Higgins EUonQoL Co-Researcher, Nurse and Patient partnership lead at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre
  • Carina Dantas EUonQoL Co-Researcher, CEO and Chief Investigator at SHINE 2Europe, Co-Director of the SHAFE Foundation
  • Inke Minnée-van Braak EUonQoL Co-Researcher
 

15:00 - 15:05

Welcome and introductions

15:05 - 15:15

Keynote address - Why measuring quality of life matters

Gijs Geleijnse - Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA

15:15 - 15:30

A European framework for measuring quality of life

Cinzia Brunelli - EUonQoL Project Coordinator

15:30 - 15:40

Patients as partners in quality of life research

Caitriona Higgins, Inke Minee van Braak, and Carina Dantas - EUonQoL co-researchers

15:40 - 15:55

Towards harmonised quality of life measurement in Europe

Stein Kaasa - Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead

15:55 - 16:20

Q&A

16:20 - 16:30

Closing Remarks

Speakers

  • Cinzia Brunelli EUonQoL Project Coordinator
  • Stein Kaasa Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead
  • Gijs Geleijnse Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA
  • Caitriona Higgins EUonQoL Co-Researcher, Nurse and Patient partnership lead at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre
  • Carina Dantas EUonQoL Co-Researcher, CEO and Chief Investigator at SHINE 2Europe, Co-Director of the SHAFE Foundation
  • Inke Minnée-van Braak EUonQoL Co-Researcher

Speakers

  • Cinzia Brunelli EUonQoL Project Coordinator
  • Stein Kaasa Professor at Oslo University Hospital and EUonQoL WP8 Lead
  • Gijs Geleijnse Scientific Coordinator at CancerWatch JA
  • Caitriona Higgins EUonQoL Co-Researcher, Nurse and Patient partnership lead at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre
  • Carina Dantas EUonQoL Co-Researcher, CEO and Chief Investigator at SHINE 2Europe, Co-Director of the SHAFE Foundation
  • Inke Minnée-van Braak EUonQoL Co-Researcher