Pierre and Marie Curie University Foundation to sponsor the 'Patient University'

MSDAVENIR and the Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC) Foundation signed a sponsorship agreement to support the overall development of a Patient University. Under theagreement, MSDAVENIR supports a project led by Professor Catherine Tourette-Turgis with one million euros over three years.

Working "with patients, for patients"

The Patient University, founded in 2010 by Catherine Tourette-Turgis, university professor in education sciences at UPMC, is an innovative educational device that integrates people affected by chronic illness in courses for a university diploma. The Patient University has already awarded 600 diplomas in the health sector, including 103 patients. Thirty percent of these patients have found work in the fields of adult learning or therapeutic education; others have continued their academic curriculum, created patient associations or developed tools in the field of “expert patient." Each year, patients who graduated from the Patient University account for more than 60 hours of courses of UPMC diplomas and more than 50 hours in training organizations. They co-lead workshops in therapeutic education in several hospitals of the public hospitals in Paris (AH-HP) and in other regions. The concept has also been implemented and developed by the medical faculties of Aix-Marseille and Grenoble Universities.

The partnership between MSDAVENIR and the UPMC Foundation has several objectives:

1. Conduct a study to show how chronic illness allows patients to learn skills

Conducted alongside the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), this study is unique in the world and will to show what skills the patient acquires through the treatment of his or her chronic illness. For the chronically ill, this opens the door to the right to training and education throughout their life and to demonstrate the need to "think employment" for the chronically ill.

2. Create new academic programs for patients in universities

The partnership between MSDAVENIR and the UPMC Foundation will build co-training with patients who want to have a place in healthcare decision-making. It will also develop new qualifications and recruit a larger teaching staff and more student patients. This partnership aims to multiply these initiatives and should also help to create an archive of multimedia documentation that is accessible to everyone.

"A first study conducted in 2013-2014 showed that attending the university and co-teaching with caregivers has a strong impact on self-esteem and helps patients take control of their own lives and their health. Ultimately, the chronically ill participate in medical and health work by working: the work of sustaining one's life," said Professor Tourette-Turgis.

"The Patient University project is directly in line with MSDAVENIR's goals: to support research projects that have a high social value. Research and innovation in the field of health are critical to meeting the societal challenges of the future, this new MSDAVENIR partnership is a perfect example," says Cyril Schiever, chairman of MSDAVENIR.

"Recognizing the experience and expertise of patients, and more broadly healthcare users is a real issue for public health. The creation of a Patient University is a first in academia and this partnership enables UPMC to confirm its leading position in France and abroad on this theme, which has a strong impact on society," said Jean Chambaz, President UPMC.