In alignment with the principles celebrated during the 2025 European Gender Equality Week, the MAYA project* reaffirms its commitment to promoting gender equality and inclusivity across all stages of research and innovation.
Research shows that cancer types and risk factors differ between men and women, as do their approaches to health management. According to the World Health Organisation : “Gender influences people’s experience of and access to healthcare. (…) Health services should be affordable, accessible and acceptable to all, and they should be provided with quality, equity and dignity”. (WHO,Gender and Health https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender)
The MAYA Project aims to prevent cardiovascular diseases as a consequence of cancer treatment. These conditions and their corresponding treatments may affect both sexes differently. It is important to acknowledge that the female sex is more at risk for late-onset cardiovascular toxicity of cancer treatment due to both the cancers they most often encounter (breast cancer, often treated with cardiotoxic therapies) and biological vulnerabilities (e.g. estrogen loss, sex-specific cardiac sensitivity). Cancer treatments can disrupt fertility, hormones, and long-term health, right at a stage of life when reproductive, professional, and personal milestones are most relevant. The physical burden is often compounded by emotional and psychosocial challenges. Women are generally more proactive in seeking healthcare and engaging in preventive measures, while males may be less likely to seek help or adopt healthy behaviours.
In that sense, evidence demonstrates that gender differences influence patterns of symptom reporting, treatment adherence, and engagement with digital health tools, underscoring the need for gender-responsive interventions in survivorship care. To strengthen the gender dimension in MAYA, the project will focus on addressing gender-specific health needs and behavioural patterns among Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors.
Empowering Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors requires not only clinical and technological excellence but also a systematic commitment to addressing gender-related disparities in health outcomes, access to care, and digital health literacy. In line with these principles, the project integrates a comprehensive Gender Equality Plan (GEP) designed to operationalise gender mainstreaming across all research and innovation activities. Developed in collaboration with both internal and external ethical advisory boards, the GEP ensures that all data collected are systematically disaggregated by gender, enabling robust, evidence-based analysis of differential outcomes.
MAYA partner SHINE 2Europe is responsible for overseeing gender management within the project, working in close collaboration with University of Ioannina, the coordinator, and all consortium partners to ensure consistent implementation of gender-sensitive practices across research, data analysis, and dissemination activities. This approach facilitates a more nuanced understanding of how gender dynamics shape digital health engagement, cardiovascular risk, and behavioural change among AYA cancer survivors.
Moreover, the project aligns with the European Commission’s strategic priorities on gender equality and inclusiveness in research and innovation, as articulated in the Horizon Europe Gender Equality Strategy. The MAYA project reinforces the principle that scientific excellence and innovation are inseparable from social responsibility and ethical integrity.
*Funded by the Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement no 101213323
