The model

Illness doesn’t end when you leave hospital – here’s how to make a full recovery: from work to quality of life

The Policlinico Gemelli project has won the INAIL BRIC tender and will involve 100 patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease and 100 women with breast cancer

by Pietro Menzani

7 July 2026

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OSPEDALE DI VENERE PRESENTAZIONE DEL PRIMO TAVOLO OPERATORIO ROTATIVO PER LA CHIRURGIA SPINALE REPARTO OSPEDALIERO IMAGOECONOMICA

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Moving beyond an approach based solely on clinical care by supporting patients beyond the hospital. This is the objective set by the Policlinico Gemelli in Rome with its new project on ‘Integrated clinical and occupational assessment and management for the comprehensive protection of the health of workers with chronic non-communicable diseases’. The initiative was selected as the winner of INAIL’s Bric 2025 call for proposals, which, with a total budget of over 14 million euros, funds two-year plans to strengthen the Italian scientific network and develop innovative solutions for health and safety at work.

The project

At the heart of the Gemelli project lies the idea of integrating health, quality of life and return to work, to ensure that patients are not left to cope alone during what can be one of the most critical stages of their treatment journey: the return to everyday life once treatment has finished.

“Health,” noted Ivo Iavicoli , director of the Complex Operational Unit (UOC) for Occupational Medicine at Gemelli Hospital and principal investigator of the project, “also concerns a person’s well-being and their ability to return to their social and working lives. We therefore need an integrated model capable of combining medicine, work and quality of life.” The initiative will involve at least one hundred patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and one hundred women with breast cancer. This choice is no coincidence. As Iavicoli emphasised, ‘IBD and breast cancer are two conditions that are highly representative of chronic non-communicable diseases and demonstrate just how necessary it is now to adopt an approach capable of integrating clinical, social and occupational aspects’.

Gemelli’s objectives

The project is therefore based on a clear premise: illness is not treated solely in hospital. With this in mind, in its study of the impact of medical conditions on patients’ quality of life and work, the Gemelli Hospital will not limit itself to the strictly clinical aspects – which will, of course, be taken into account – but will also address the psychological, social and professional aspects.

The aim remains to enable people to return to living life to the full, overcoming a state of vulnerability and opening up new opportunities for inclusion and participation. Through a multidisciplinary approach that brings together occupational medicine and specialist medicine, personalised pathways for return to work and job retention will be developed, alongside integrated models of clinical and occupational management.

Chronic non-communicable diseases

The Gemelli initiative takes on even greater significance when one considers that chronic non-communicable diseases – ranging from cardiovascular diseases to cancers, including, amongst others, asthma and diabetes – represent one of the main challenges to public health. As well as being responsible for 75 per cent of deaths worldwide – causing around 40 million deaths each year – they can have a significant impact on people’s quality of life, leading to disability, limitations and difficulties at work and in daily life. And, as the Gemelli points out, an ageing population is set to exacerbate the incidence and severity of these conditions.

With this in mind, the project will produce new scientific evidence and publications, multidisciplinary tools for assessing patients’ wellbeing and work capacity, personalised risk management models, and operational guidelines aimed at doctors, organisations and prevention services. The real aim, according to Iavicoli, is ‘to make a mark, to have a tangible impact on people’s lives: to facilitate a sustainable return to work, improve wellbeing and promote genuinely inclusive pathways, tailored to their needs’.

Balancing health, work and dignity

The project has generated great enthusiasm amongst the professionals involved. Gianluca Franceschini, director of the Breast Surgery Unit at the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli, where the 100 cancer patients are being treated, explained that ‘recovery does not automatically mean a return to one’s former life’ and that, for this reason, ‘the real challenge today is not just to treat the disease, but to support people through a comprehensive recovery process that brings together health, work and dignity. It is essential to give everyone back the chance to feel once again that they are an active part of their personal and professional lives’.

Franco Scaldaferri , coordinator of the Digestive System Diseases Centre (CEMAD), shares this view. He noted that this study ‘provides a useful tool for systematically assessing an aspect that is often overlooked in clinical trials: the impact that a so-called ‘invisible’ disease can have on patients’ daily and working lives’.”

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