PARADISE is a coordinated action project funded by the European Union (EU) under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). It is composed of 10 partners across Europe and is coordinated by the Research Unit for Biopsychosocial Health at the department Public Health and Health Care Research at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. The objective of the PARADISE project is to develop and test an innovative approach to collecting clinical data on the psychosocial difficulties that people experience when they suffer from brain disorders.

Rehabilitation is the health strategy that enables people with health conditions to reach and maintain optimal functioning in interaction with the environment. In order to achieve this goal the active involvement of patients in managing their own health care and rehabilitation process, in partnership with health professionals, is essential ! One prerequisite for this is that patients are aware of the own level of functioning and feel confident about their own abilities to influence their current level of functioning, so-called "self-efficacy". A suitable tool for enhancing a patient's perceived  self-efficacy has been patient education programs.

Dementia is the most common psychiatric illness in the ageing population. The project called "The ICF as reference for the evaluation of intervention studies in dementia - ICFeffect" conducted under the auspices of  the high-profile "Leuchtturm" project Dementia funded by the Germany Ministry of Health was completed in 2010. The aim of this cooperation between the Department of Primary Medical Care at the University Medical Hospital Hamburg- Eppendorf and the ICF Research Branch was to analyze the extent new instruments are necessary to detect patients' and caregivers' relevant endpoints in intervention studies involving persons with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (PwADT).

Disability is a multi-dimensional phenomenon arising out of an interaction between the individual's health status and the physical and social environment. Disability data, and the instruments to measure it, must reflect this bio-psychosocial model of disability. Valid and reliable information are essential to design, implement or evaluate policies and legislation to combat discrimination and promote social integration, participation and enhance opportunities.

MURINET (Multidisciplinary Research Network on Health and Disability in Europe) was a 4-year (2007-2010), FP6 European Union-funded project coordinated by Dr. Matilde Leonardi (Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy) and a multidisciplinary consortium of 13 academic and research institutions and NGOs from 7 European countries. 

Measuring health and disability: supporting policy development (MHADIE),  a 3-year project supported by an European Commission Framework six programme Grant, has achieved its aim to demonstrate the feasibility, utility and value of the ICF as a model for harmonising data across populations and sectors in Europe. Such data assist countries in developing realistic, evidence-based and effective social policies for persons with disabilities that will achieve equality of opportunities and full participation.