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Home Science and Research Clinical Research Collaboration: application programme CONNECT – Moving multiple digital innovations towards connected respiratory care: addressing the over-arching challenges of whole systems implementation

CONNECT – Moving multiple digital innovations towards connected respiratory care: addressing the over-arching challenges of whole systems implementation

CRC Chairs:
Hilary Pinnock (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
Job van Boven (University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands)


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To join the CONNECT CRC network, please complete this survey.

About CONNECT

The CONNECT (Moving multiple digital innovations towards connected respiratory care: Addressing the over-arching challenges of whole systems implementation) clinical research collaboration (CRC) was launched by ERS in 2023.

Digital health is an ERS priority that can offer patients tailored, seamless (self-)management support. This would include remote access to clinical advice; enable clinicians to monitor and tailor care; provide healthcare systems with data to target resources and monitor/intervene in health events. Accelerated by the pandemic, the focus of clinical research is shifting from pilot/effectiveness studies in specific clinical contexts to sustainable implementation of (cross border) digital healthcare.

However, successful implementation is complex, requiring consideration of implications for patients, professionals, and organisations, as well as an understanding of the political, regulatory, socio-economic context. Evaluation of digital initiatives should encompass assessment of all these aspects.

This CRC will focus on developing an ERS wide multidisciplinary network focused on implementing digital respiratory healthcare in order to bridge the gap between disease/location-focused digital initiatives, and sustainable, equitable, connected implementation of digital healthcare in routine clinical respiratory practice within European (and global) healthcare systems.

Specific aims

The vision of the CONNECT CRC is to enable knowledge exchange, create a repository of available respiratory technologies, promote standardised approaches to implementation research in digital healthcare, publish position paper(s) on barriers and enablers to deployment at scale, and plan research that will inform, develop and evaluate the implementation of digital respiratory healthcare.

With this purpose, CONNECT CRC aims specifically to:

  • Promote the exchange of research ideas among patients, clinicians, researchers, and technologists.
  • Enable knowledge exchange of available digital respiratory technologies by creating a searchable, open-access, user-controlled, European-wide repository of digital respiratory health technologies.
  • Agree on standardised approaches to implementation research on digital healthcare.
  • Scope and publish the infrastructure for prospective implementation research.
  • Plan, fund and conduct studies that will inform, develop and/or evaluate implementation of digital respiratory healthcare.

Operational aspects

What we aim to achieve in the CONNECT CRC

To achieve these aims, five work packages are being composed:

  • WP-I: Developing a digital healthcare global network
    We are fostering a global network of members interested in implementing digital healthcare and willing to contribute to proposed projects. By November 2024, the network included 982 people from 83 countries.
    We welcome more members, from clinical medicine, academia, and industry.  The link to a registration survey is available on the top of the page. People living with respiratory disease are also welcome to sign up; the European Lung Foundation (ELF) is a partner, and patient colleagues are also welcome to join a Patient Advisory Group via this link
  • WP-II: Repository of digital respiratory technologies
    Aim: To create a searchable, open-access, user-controlled, European-wide repository of digital respiratory health technologies, thereby enabling efficient knowledge exchange about available digital respiratory technologies.
    Impact: This unique platform will enable the discovery of digital respiratory innovations in Europe, promote their adoption and success, and connect with owners of digital health innovations.
  • WP-III: Systematic scoping review of implementation research in digital respiratory healthcare
    Aim: Systematic scoping review of existing research on implementing digital respiratory interventions. Our findings will support broader goals within the ERS CONNECT CRC, encourage collaboration among patients, clinicians, researchers, and technologists, and facilitate a unified framework for digital health in routine care across the EU and potentially worldwide.
    Impact: Findings from this scoping review will guide standardised approaches to developing, evaluating and reporting the implementation of digital respiratory healthcare, with the ultimate aim of harmonising care at the patient, professional and systems level.
  • WP-IVa: Position papers on barriers and facilitators to the implementation of digital health in respiratory care across Europe
    Aims: To scope the European digital health landscape for factors which may facilitate or impede the effective, equitable and coherent uptake of digital health in respiratory care. This will result in a position paper (or papers) to highlight unmet needs and inform future research and implementation.
    Impact: The identified barriers and facilitators will highlight unmet needs and inform design of future implementation research, as well as provide patients, their clinicians, payers and industry with insights to inform real-world implementation.
  • WP-IVb: Core digital respiratory outcomes for clinical trials
    Aim: To provide guidance for the use of digital technologies in clinical trials in the respiratory area. These may include all ERS focus areas such as asthma, COPD, ILD, TB, lung cancer and CF.
    Impacts: The core sets of digital (bio)markers and outcomes will facilitate standardised approaches to developing, conducting, evaluating and reporting clinical trials using digital respiratory technologies, making them more generalisable, (cost)efficient, sustainable and more suitable for meta-analysis of their findings.
  • WP-V: Collaborative projects

Please click here for more information.

Stakeholders

The CONNECT CRC is composed of:

  • Core committee: CRC chairs, representatives of patients, primary/secondary care, adults/children, senior/early career members, physicians, pharmacists.
  • Working groups: designated lead, PhD students, early career members, a Core Committee member.
  • Expert advisory group: expertise in ERS/advocacy, GARD, private-public collaboration, strategic links with ATS, WHO.

Contact

If you are interested in more information about the CONNECT CRC or would like to join the network, please contact scientific@ersnet.org.

Publications