EXTENDED DEADLINE! Call for Abstracts: submit now, before 15 May!

In addition, the conference scientific committee kindly invites EFPC members to submit an outline for workshops of 45 or 90 minutes on specific themes before mid-May 2021. Please check for further guidance PIE and visit the list of EFPC 2021 Bergen Conference – Themes for inspiration.

NEW Deadline 15 May 2021
Submit your abstract here!

Ps: In case we have to cancel the conference in Bergen, due to the pandemic situation, the conference will be shifted into an online event. All the accepted abstracts will be included in it.

Clinical Trials Information System reaches major milestone towards go-live and application of the Clinical Trial Regulation

EMA’s Management Board confirmed that the clinical trial EU Portal and Database, one of the main deliverables of the Clinical Trial Regulation and the key component of the Clinical Trial Information System (CTIS), is now fully functional and on track to go live by 31 January 2022.

This Clinical Trial Regulation aims to harmonise the registration and supervision processes for clinical trials throughout the EU. CTIS will streamline these processes, ensuring the EU remains an attractive location for investment into clinical research.

When it goes live, CTIS will be the single EU entry point for clinical trial applications. Clinical trial sponsors will be able to apply for a clinical trial in all countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) with one application instead of having to apply separately in every country. This single application will include the submission to national competent authorities and to the ethics committees for all involved countries.

CTIS will facilitate recruitment of trial participants by allowing sponsors and researchers to easily expand trials to other EEA countries, and will allow sponsors, researchers and national competent authorities to collaborate across borders for better results and knowledge-sharing.

The system will contain a public website with detailed information on and outcomes of all clinical trials conducted in the EU throughout their lifecycle, thus improving transparency and access to information for patients, healthcare workers and other interested parties.

Improving Performance in Primary Health Care Systems in LMICs
7th May 2021, Friday – 14.30h CET
Hosted by the Primary Health Care Research Consortium (PHCRC), the third webinar in the series “Scaling New Frontiers in Primary Health Care Through Research and Partnership” will feature primary health care experts discussing opportunities for improving PHC performance in LMICs.

PCHPI team is in search of an Operations Associate!
The Operations Associate will be an integral part of the PHCPI Secretariat, a central team devoted to ensuring the achievement of the Initiative’s goals and coordinating the activities of the PHCPI partners.
This is an exciting opportunity to help develop innovative, data-driven solutions to pressing global development challenges and to work with global health professionals on the cutting edge of the field in a unique collaboration.
More information and application here

Public Web Conference organised by the ICH E6 (R3) EWG - 18-19 May
ICH E6 GCP is the international ethical, scientific, and quality standard for the conduct of clinical trials for the development of new drugs and biologics involving human participants intended to support regulatory applications. Due to the wide impact of this important guideline, the ICH Management Committee is taking this unique step to provide an update on the status of the work.
The EWG is holding two similar meetings on 

• Option 1: Tuesday, May 18 from 8-11 a.m. EDT (2-5 p.m. CEST, 9 p.m. – 12 a.m. JST)  Day 1 Registration  
• Option 2: Wednesday, May 19 from 6-9 p.m. JST (5-8 a.m. EDT, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CEST)  Day 2 Registration 

Join the debate: the citizens' platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe is now open!  »
This platform is the hub of the Conference on the Future of Europe. This is your opportunity to speak up, to say what kind of Europe you want to live in, to help shape our future. One of the topics Europeans are asked to give ideas and input on is health. Healthcare, well-being and a healthy lifestyle are vital for all of us. The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced the need to build our resources in this field to protect Europeans. While national governments are primarily responsible for healthcare and medical services, European Union health policies can support and strengthen this action. By voicing your opinions, hopes and concerns, you can influence the way healthcare is provided in Europe. Choose one of the following categories to make your proposals.

• Coronavirus
• Healthcare
• Promoting healthy lifestyles

New on Primary Health Care Research & Development (PHCR&D)

Evaluation of a healthcare walk-in centre in an immigrant-dense area from the perspective of Swedish-born patients
Rikard Wärdig, Emina Hadziabdic and Katarina Hjelm
This study evaluates a healthcare walk-in centre in an immigrant-dense area from the perspective of Swedish-born patients.
The studied healthcare centre started a walk-in centre to increase healthcare accessibility for immigrants. This form of care is not primarily for Swedish-born patients although everyone is welcome.
Most informants characterised the care they received as professional and timely and noted that accessibility was the main reason they sought care at the walk-in centre. In addition, they noted that being able to seek care on the day they want creates a feeling of security. However, Swedish-born informants seemed to prefer a traditional healthcare centre, although they viewed the walk-in centre as legitimate because everyone has access to it.

Workforce issues in home‐ and community‐based long‐term care in Germany
Gruber, Eva Maria; Zeiser, Silvana; Schröder, Dorit; Büscher, Andreas
The study addresses staffing and workforce issues for home‐ and community‐based long‐term care in Germany. It is based on a study aimed at developing staffing recommendations for home‐care provider organisations. The study was commissioned within the regulation of the German long‐term care act.
In Germany, no fixed staff‐to‐client ratio exists, but staffing is determined primarily by reimbursement policies, not by care recipients’ needs. The results of the interviews indicated that staffing ratios are not the main concern of home‐care providers. Experts stressed that general availability of staff with different qualification levels and the problems of existing regulation on services and their reimbursement are of higher concern. The measurement of time needed for selected interventions reveals the huge heterogeneity of home‐care service delivery and the difficulty of using a task‐based approach to determine staffing levels. Overall, the study shows that currently demand for home‐care exceeds supply. Staff shortage puts a risk to home care in Germany. Existing approaches of reimbursement‐driven determination of staffing levels have not been sufficient. A new balance between staffing, needs and reimbursement policies needs to be developed.

Structural medicine: towards an economy of care
Eric Reinhart, Daniel Dawes, Aletha Maybank.
Physicians have long known that working conditions and economic security are key determinants of health. Unfortunately, many health-care systems, especially in the USA, have been designed around reductive, monetary notions of value that are in tension with principles of prevention, justice, anti-racism, and prioritising equitable care delivery. The dominance of reductively biomedical and economic emphases has generally cultivated narrow visions of the health-care community's proper purview and deflected physicians' political responsibilities to prevent disease and protect patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, characterisations of effective care as apolitical or a matter of individual ethics rather than collective organisation have become increasingly untenable.
Download eBook

COVID-19 continues to disrupt essential health services in 90% of countries
This survey looks at 63 core health services across delivery platforms and health areas. It was sent to 216 countries and territories across the six WHO regions. 135 responses were received (63% response rate) from senior ministry of health officials predominantly between January and March 2021. The responses referred to the situation in the country during the 3 months prior to survey submission (in this case predominantly covering periods between October 2020-February 2021).
The purpose of the survey was to gain insights and perspectives on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential health services and how countries are adapting strategies to maintain essential services.

Promise and Peril: How artificial intelligence is transforming health care

AI has enormous potential to improve the quality — and cost — of health care. But if implemented incautiously, it can exacerbate health disparities, endanger patient privacy, and perpetuate bias. Over the past year and a half STAT, with support from The Commonwealth Fund, has reported extensively on these possibilities and pitfalls. This report is the culmination of that work. 

Written by STAT’s Erin Brodwin, a California-based health tech correspondent, and Casey Ross, national technology correspondent, it summarizes findings, as well as recommendations heard from caregivers, health care executives, academic experts, patient advocates, and others. It also looks to illuminate best practices, while identifying concerns and regulatory gaps

Leveraging Primary Health Care for COVID-19 vaccination efforts
For vaccination campaigns to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic, high population coverage will be required. Because of its community orientation, PHC provides an important platform for achieving this goal. Additionally, in many countries, PHC systems  are the primary source of health system capacities, including workforce and facility infrastructure, that will need to be harnessed  for vaccination efforts. A good understanding of PHC capacity– through measurement tools like the Vital Signs Profiles – is crucial for weighing the options and trade-offs inherent in selecting and executing on a vaccine strategy.

Constructing a new role for family carers and volunteers providing care towards the end of life: an action research approach exploring a new model of hospice care
Walshe, Catherine; Barnes, Helen; Turner, Mary; Hughes, Sean
The objective of this study was to understand the conceptualisation and development of a novel way of providing end‐of‐life care in a Cottage Hospice setting, with a focus on the role of family carers and volunteers within this care model. Change was viewed as both a threat and an opportunity. Cottage Hospice represents the possibility of a truly new way of meeting the needs of dying people and their families, and could act as a template for progressive service developments elsewhere.

General practitioners’ views on the influence of long-term care reforms on integrated elderly care in the Netherlands: a qualitative interview study
Sietske Grol et al; Health Policy, 2021
This study explores the long-term care (LTC) reform in the Netherlands and its relation to the day-to-day integrated care for frail elderly people, from the perspective of general practitioners (GPs). They assessed GP perspectives regarding which elements of the LTC reform have promoted and hindered the provision of person-centred, integrated care for elderly people in the Netherlands.
GPs reported that the ideals of the LTC reform (self-reliance) were largely achievable and listed a number of positive effects, including increased healthcare professional engagement and the improved integration of the medical and social domains through the close involvement of social support teams. The reported negative implications were a lack of co-ordination in the implementation of the reforms by the municipality, insufficient funding for multidisciplinary team meetings and the reinforced fragmentation of home care. In particular, the implementation of the system reforms took place with little regard for the local context. They suggest that the implementation of national care reforms should be aligned with factors operating at the micro level and make the following recommendations: use one central location for primary health and social services, integrate regional ICT structures to improve the exchange of patient information, and reduce fragmentation in home care.

The Role of Primary Health Care in COVID-19 Response & Recovery
Decisions being made today on health policy and resource allocation in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will shape our world for years to come. In a rapidly and constantly evolving health landscape, urgent action is needed to address the challenges countries are facing, including an increasing number of COVID variants, commodity shortages and limited access to vaccines. Alongside measures taken to meet the needs of communities, support health workers and distribute COVID-19 vaccines in these circumstances, countries must also diagnose and implement fixes for the broader weaknesses in health systems now exposed by the current pandemic.
Primary health care (PHC) must be central to these efforts: it is crucial to both fighting health crises like pandemics and maintaining the effective delivery of essential and routine health services. Strengthening PHC systems can blunt the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of millions, while also preparing countries for future anticipated health challenges to ensure the world can one day fulfil the promise of health for all.
This document provides members of the global health community with messages based on countries’ developing experience promoting a PHC-driven approach to COVID response. These messages can help shape communications and advocacy about how and why country leadership, global donors and partner organizations can – and must – actively strengthen PHC as a key component of COVID-19 response and recovery