APH researchers Christiaan Vis (Research Associate, Clinical Psychology at VU Amsterdam), Femke van Nassau (Research Associate, Public and Occupational Health at Amsterdam UMC) and Hidde van der Ploeg (Associate Professor, Public and occupational health at Amsterdam UMC) have been awarded with a H2020 grant focused on effective implementation of primary cancer prevention (PCP) in the PIECES project.

The high and growing global burden of cancer urges the need for effective implementation of PCP programmes targeting modifiable risk factors such tobacco, alcohol, low physical activity, HPV infection, sun exposure, and diet. The PIECES project will develop, evaluate, and disseminate a cancer-specific implementation framework, the integrated PCP Implementation Toolkit (PCP-IT). PCP-IT will provide an evidence-informed systematic process for (1) identification, selection, and tailoring of PCP programmes, and (2) developing evidence-informed implementation strategies tailored to local barriers and constraints.

The projects has a budget of € 7.3 million and involves 16 partner organisations from 10 countries. A multi-site case comparison study will be conducted to study implementation outcomes. An in-depth realist evaluation using various sociological theories will be conducted to explain the processes by which the outcomes are achieved.