The Core Group Meeting, Working Group Meetings and Management Committee Meeting of the COST Action CA 16234, European Cleft and Craniofacial Initiative for Equality in Care (ECCE) were held in Malta on 23 and 24 March 2019.
The convener was Professor Jean Calleja Agius, Head of Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, in close collaboration with Professor Helen Grech from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Dr Gabriella Gatt from the Faculty of Dental Surgery. The Chair of this Action, Professor Martin Persson from the University of Kristianstad, Sweden, and Mr Gareth Davies from the European Cleft Organisation, led the meetings during these two days.
The main aim of the Action is to ensure that children born with orofacial clefts and other craniofacial conditions receive optimum multidisciplinary care enabling them to grow up like any other child and attain equal status within their societies. Estimates indicate that there are over 1,000 000 individuals with clefts in Europe - a significant figure, especially when one considers that not only the patients but also their families are affected in terms of psychosocial adjustment and having to endure the burden of a long treatment pathway.
The convener was Professor Jean Calleja Agius, Head of Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, in close collaboration with Professor Helen Grech from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Dr Gabriella Gatt from the Faculty of Dental Surgery. The Chair of this Action, Professor Martin Persson from the University of Kristianstad, Sweden, and Mr Gareth Davies from the European Cleft Organisation, led the meetings during these two days.
The main aim of the Action is to ensure that children born with orofacial clefts and other craniofacial conditions receive optimum multidisciplinary care enabling them to grow up like any other child and attain equal status within their societies. Estimates indicate that there are over 1,000 000 individuals with clefts in Europe - a significant figure, especially when one considers that not only the patients but also their families are affected in terms of psychosocial adjustment and having to endure the burden of a long treatment pathway.
A Training School on health care provision, education, mental healthand social determinants that may affect individuals with cleft or craniofacial conditions will be held at Valletta Campus.
More information about this Action is available online.