The EU4Health co-funded TEAM-COACH project has concluded after three years of work to strengthen Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices in paediatric healthcare settings across Southern Europe. Led by the Innovation in Global Pediatric Infectious Diseases Group at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre / SERMAS (Spain), in collaboration with five leading paediatric institutions from Greece, Italy and Spain, the project developed an innovative e-learning platform for healthcare professionals with Fondazione Penta ETS responsible for the platform’s overall development and management. The project’s results were presented during its Final Meeting, held on May 20th, 2026, in Madrid and online, bringing together consortium members and key stakeholders from European, international and national health institutions.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, more than 1,000 healthcare professionals working in paediatric settings across Greece, Italy and Spain were granted access to the e-learning platform. Of these, 76% completed at least one training module and successfully answered the post-training assessment. More than half of those who completed at least one module went on to complete four or more modules, indicating sustained engagement with the educational content. Ninety-four percent of participants considered the training materials useful, while 92% reported that they intended to apply the knowledge gained in their daily clinical practice. Positive results were observed across hospital and primary care settings and among the diverse healthcare professional profiles involved. Clinical practice indicators also showed promising results, with a reduction in antibiotic consumption observed in 70% of participating units three months after the training and maintained at 12 months in 60% of the units.
These results reinforce the consortium’s commitment to ensuring long-term sustainability and wider adoption of the platform. “From the beginning of TEAM-COACH, our ambition was not simply to develop a training platform for the duration of the project, but to create a resource with the potential to continue supporting healthcare professionals beyond the project’s lifetime,” said Dr. Cristina Epalza, Scientific Coordinator of TEAM-COACH. “The results and engagement achieved encourage us to continue working towards making this training available more widely, first across Europe and, in the longer term, in other healthcare settings where these resources could have a meaningful impact” said Prof. Pablo Rojo, Chief Investigator of TEAM-COACH.
Building on the results achieved, the consortium is actively exploring pathways to support the long-term sustainability and wider adoption of the training platform. The consortium aims to expand access across Europe and, in the longer term, explore its potential use in low- and middle-income countries. To support this next phase, the consortium is seeking new funding opportunities and potential partnerships. Healthcare institutions and organisations interested in contributing to the future development and expansion of the TEAM-COACH platform are invited to contact the consortium at info@team-coach.eu.
About TEAM-COACH
TEAM-COACH (Training and capacity building in antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control in children through an interactive electronic tool and a European collaborative group) is a three-year project co-funded by the European Union under the EU4Health Programme. The project is supported under Grant Agreement No. 101079939 and managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA).