Award for the Inclusion of People with Rare Diseases presented to the UOC

For FEDER, the UOC is an example to follow. In fact, this year, together with the UPF, it will be taking part in the JUNTOS research project, the aim of which is to identify and eliminate communication barriers between healthcare professionals and families, thereby fostering empowerment for families with children suffering from rare diseases.

This project, conducted by researchers Rosa Estopà, from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), and Manuel Armayones, from the UOC, has received a grant of 100,000 euros from the sixth edition of the RecerCaixa programme.

In 2015, the UOC was also the co-organizer of the Schools Congress on Rare Diseases at which good practices were proposed that would favour equality in the school environment.

Thanks to its vocation for eliminating all kinds of barriers to education, the UOC is currently the third university in terms of numbers of students with disabilities.


Research into the fields of psychology, health and ICT

The UOC has PSiNET (Psychology, Health & the Net), a research group with specific lines of work in the field of rare diseases, that also operates online as part of the FEDER Rare Diseases Observatory.


Awards for work online

With these awards, the Federation seeks to reward the essential work conducted in different fields that all have one single premise: to strive to improve the lives of those affected by rare diseases and those of their families.

The award ceremony was attended by the Queen of Spain, Letizia Ortiz, and took place on Thursday at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid as part of World Rare Disease Day on 29 February.


FEDER

The Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases is the voice of people with rare diseases and their families. It works to defend, protect and promote the rights of over three million people in Spain. Its associative movement fights to ensure the equal and full social, healthcare, education and employment integration of those affected.