Chronic wounds remain one of Europe’s most pressing healthcare challenges, affecting millions and placing significant strain on healthcare systems. Managing these complex conditions demands innovative, patient-focused approaches and collaboration across borders.
The ICAREWOUNDS project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme, is a collaborative initiative involving patients from Ireland, Spain, and Poland, with the overarching goal of transforming chronic wound care through digital innovation. The project is developing a patient-centred digital platform designed to support healthcare professionals and patients in improving wound assessment, monitoring, and management.
By bringing together expertise from diverse healthcare systems, ICAREWOUNDS promotes cross-country learning to identify best practices, share clinical knowledge, and co-design solutions that are adaptable and sustainable across different care contexts.
A core element of the project is its three-phase pilot evaluation, which ensures that the platform is both practical and effective in real-world healthcare settings:
- Phase 1 – Heuristic Evaluation: Clinicians provide expert feedback to identify initial usability issues and guide design improvements. Recruitment for this phase began in November 2025 across the participating countries.
- Phase 2 – Concept Validation: The platform’s feasibility, acceptability, and clinical value will be assessed using validated evaluation tools.
- Phase 3 – Usability Testing: This final stage will explore participants’ experiences, focusing on usability, workflow efficiency, and overall satisfaction.
This multinational approach reflects the strength of European collaboration in driving health innovation. By integrating technology and shared expertise, ICAREWOUNDS is paving the way for digitally supported, patient-centred wound care that improves patient outcomes and supports more efficient, coordinated healthcare delivery across Europe.
ICAREWOUNDS project has received funding from the European Commission, ISCIII, NCBR, HRB, AKA and MUR under the framework the co-fund partnership of Transforming Health and Care Systems, THCS, (GA N° 101095654 of the EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme)
Award nº AC23_2/00048 and nº AC23_2/00031 by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through AES 2023 and within the THCS Partnership.