On 5th of May 2026, members of the Behavioural Science and Health (BSIH) Lab travelled to Kaunas, Lithuania, to participate in two key events of the DESIPOC project, the 3rd Transnational Meeting (TNM) and a public Awareness Roundtable discussion, hosted by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) at the Emmanuel Levinas Center.
About DESIPOC
DESIPOC (Developing a Sustained European Initiative for Monitoring and Sharing Practices in Psychosocial Oncology Care Provision) is a European Union-funded project (Project No. 101161339) that aims to build a lasting, cross-national initiative for monitoring and sharing best practices in psychosocial cancer care. The project brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of partners from across Europe, including LSMU, MERIC, ICCS, ECO, CSI, PASYKAF, ADIPER, and the Coordinating Institution the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT).
3rd Transnational Meeting
The full consortium gathered for a productive full-day working meeting, with progress updates and co-development workshops across all work packages. Highlights included a hands-on mock-up workshop for the DESIPOC virtual platform and observatory (WP3, led by ICCS), updates on training and support activities with a special focus on vulnerable groups (WP3, T3.4, led by MERIC), and presentations on stakeholder involvement and policy outreach (WP6, led by ECO) and dissemination and sustainability strategies (WP2, led by CSI).
BSIH Lab was represented by Dr Angelos Kassianos, project coordinator and Dr Maria Loizou, project manager who presented updates on WP1 (Project Management) and WP4 (Understanding and Preparing).
The meeting concluded with a consortium-wide discussion on upcoming co-creation activities, outreach events, and coordination needs, followed by a networking dinner that offered partners the opportunity to strengthen relationships and collaborate informally.
Awareness Roundtable: Integrating Psychosocial Care into Oncology Practice
Also on 06th of May, DESIPOC hosted a public Awareness Roundtable Discussion on the theme Integrating Psychosocial Care into Oncology Practice. The event brought together expert clinicians and patient advocates from Lithuania for a focused 40-minute structured discussion aimed at gathering real-world insights to inform DESIPOC’s research agenda, platform development, and implementation strategy.
The roundtable was facilitated by Dr Angelos Kassianos and Dr Maria Loizou and featured contributions from Assoc. Prof. Lina Danusevičienė (Patient Council Representative), Dr Lina Pužauskienė (Medical Oncologist), Ms Medeinė Tuzikaitė (Medical Psychologist), Ms Patricija Morkeliūnaitė (General Practice Nurse), and Assoc. Prof. Erika Korobeinikova (Radiation Oncologist). Panellists discussed the psychosocial needs of people living with cancer and their carers, barriers to delivering patient-centred care, gaps in current psychosocial provision, and how to ensure access for vulnerable groups.
The event was a valuable opportunity to ground the project’s outputs in clinical reality and to build awareness of DESIPOC among healthcare professionals and stakeholders in Lithuania.
Looking Ahead
The Kaunas meeting marked an important milestone in the DESIPOC project, demonstrating the consortium’s continued momentum and commitment to advancing psychosocial oncology care across Europe. The BSIH Lab looks forward to the next stages of the project, including upcoming co-creation activities and the further development of the DESIPOC platform and observatory.
DESIPOC is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). [Project Number: 101161339]
