Patient Advocacy at EAU26

The Patient Office was founded on the core belief that meaningful patient engagement is imperative to advancing urological research that accurately reflects the patient perspective. The importance of patient engagement is seen time and time again in areas such as shared decision-making, involvement in clinical trials, and Patient Reported Outcome Measurement surveys (PROMs).

During the Annual EAU Congresses the EAU Patient Office ensures that the patient voice is heard within the scientific programme through a dedicated patient track. This year’s Congress offers a wide range of activities for all those committed to strengthening patient involvement in urological care.

Taking place on Friday 13 March, in the Red Area, Room 17, the day will begin with the Patient Office announcing the highly anticipated Top-3 Patient Poster Abstract winners during the Patient Poster Session. The day will continue with five roundtable sessions, exploring new perspectives from patients and HCPs across a range of urological topics:

• Roundtable #1: BALANCE: Diversity in PCa - Our journey so far, chaired by Mr. Denzil James (GB), featuring our partners from Brazil, Suriname and the UK
• Roundtable #2: Penile cancer: The impact on mental health and intimacy and lived experiences of patients and partners, chaired by Mr. Robert Cornes (GB), featuring expert insights from Prof. Maarten Albersen (BE)
• Roundtable #3: Shared decision-making in RCC - Insights from global patient data and clinical practice, chaired by Ms. Claudia Ungarelli (BE)
• Roundtable #4: Sleep deprivation in urology patients, chaired by Ms. Anna De Santis (IT), featuring sleep expert Dr. Hugh Selsick (GB)
• Roundtable #5: BCLEAR: Shared decisions, stronger care in BCa – Addressing clinician needs across Europe, chaired by Dr. Michael van Balken (NL), featuring the Hellenic Urological Association (HUA), the Hungarian Society of Urology (HSU) and the Polish Urological Association (PTU).

Be sure to pop in and hear insights that you are unlikely to hear anywhere else, from a variety of acclaimed speakers. If you can only make one roundtable this year, we highly recommend ‘BALANCE: Diversity in PCa - Our journey so far’. The BALANCE project focuses on better understanding how prostate cancer impacts Black men of African and Caribbean ancestry, as well as men of mixed ethnic backgrounds. 

The Patient Office has been at the heart of the BALANCE Project along with multiple key stakeholders from Angola, Brazil, Suriname, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. We are delighted at the development and momentum that the project has gained since its launch last year.

On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March, the Patient Office will host a number of 30-minute thematic sessions. These sessions will be presented by some of the world’s leading healthcare figures and will give you the chance to engage with speakers in a more informal and intimate environment at the cosy Patient Advocacy Plaza Theatre. 

The sessions will be delivered in 30-min segments, designed to encourage meaningful discussion and allow attendees time to connect with speakers and fully immerse themselves in each topic. The 30-minute thematic sessions are important for representing both perspectives of patient and HCP insights for specialised topics within the field of urology. 

Whether you attended last year’s Patient Advocacy presentations and would like to experience another insightful and diverse programme, or you’re curious about the work of the Patient Office, we would be delighted to welcome you to the Patient Advocacy Sessions on Friday, 13 March in Red Area, Room 17, as well as the Patient Advocacy Plaza on any other day in the Orange Area, Level 0.

For more information and the full Scientific Programme, visit Patient Advocacy Day.