National Consortium Research Articles

Developing functional network connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex mediates externalizing psychopathology in adolescents with child neglect

Childhood adversity has been associated with elevated risk for psychopathology. We investigated whether development of functional brain networks important for executive function (EF) could serve as potential mediators of this association. We analyzed data of 475 adolescents, a subsample of the multisite longitudinal NCANDA (National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence) cohort with completed measures of childhood trauma, resting-state functional brain connectivity data, and symptoms of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology at baseline and follow-up years 1–4. Using parallel process latent growth models, we found that childhood adversity was associated with increased risk for externalizing/internalizing behaviors. We specifically investigated whether functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) to brain regions within the cingulo-opercular (CO) network, a well-known EF network that underlies control of attention and self-regulation, mediates the association between adversity and symptoms of psychopathology. We found that childhood adversity, specifically child neglect was negatively associated with functional connectivity of the dACC within the CO network, and that this connectivity mediated the association between neglect and externalizing behaviors. Our study advances a mechanistic understanding of how childhood adversity may impact the development of psychopathology, highlighting the relevance of dACC functional networks particularly for externalizing psychopathology.

610 Self-Reported Sleep and Circadian Characteristics Predict Future Substance Use: A Longitudinal Analysis from the NCANDA Study

Abstract Introduction Growing evidence indicates that sleep characteristics predict later substance use and related problems during adolescence and young adulthood. However, most prior studies have assessed a limited range of sleep characteristics, studied only a narrow age span, and included relatively few follow-up assessments. Here, we used multiple years of data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study, which spans the adolescent period with an accelerated longitudinal design, to examine whether multiple sleep characteristics in any year predict substance use the following year. Methods The sample included 831 participants (423 females; age 12–21 years at baseline) from NCANDA. Sleep variables included the previous year’s circadian preference, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, timing of midsleep (weekday and weekend), and sleep duration (weekday and weekend). Each sleep variable’s association with the subsequent year’s substance use (cannabis use or alcohol binge severity) across years 1–5 was tested separately using generalized linear mixed models (zero-inflated Negative Binomial for cannabis; ordinal for binge severity) with age, sex, race, visit, parental education, previous year’s substance use (yes/no) as covariates and subject as a random effect. Results With regard to cannabis use, greater eveningness and shorter weekday sleep duration predicted an increased risk for additional days of cannabis use the following year, while greater eveningness and later weekend midsleep predicted a greater likelihood of any cannabis use the following year. With regard to alcohol binge severity, greater eveningness, greater daytime sleepiness, and shorter sleep duration (weekday and weekend) all predicted an increased risk for more severe alcohol bingeing the following year. Post-hoc stratified analyses indicated that some of these associations may differ between high school-age and college-age participants. Conclusion Our findings extend prior work, indicating that eveningness and later sleep timing, as well as shorter sleep duration, especially on weekdays, are risk factors for future cannabis use and alcohol misuse. These results underscore a need for greater attention to sleep characteristics as potential risk factors for substance use in adolescents and young adults and may inform future areas of intervention. Support (if any) Grants from NIH: R01AA025626 (Hasler) and U01AA021690 (Clark) and UO1 AA021696 (Baker & Colrain)

Creation of favorable conditions for the economy of Irkutsk region in the housing and communal sector

The role of housing and communal services is crucial, and it is increasing due to the development of information technologies and a “Smart city” concept. With an increase in the number of population, the consumption of energy and other global resources increases. It is necessary to improve the housing and communal services, create and develop the concept “Smart cities” in the Russian Federation. The government aims to create a National Consortium for the development and implementation of digital technologies in the field of urban economy. At the same time, the main task is professional self-realization of university graduates. Currently, intelligent production requires specialists to design innovative products and services and solve problems of innovative production, marketing, and information technologies.

Neuroimaging markers of adolescent depression in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study

BackgroundAdolescents are at increased risk of developing major depressive disorder (MDD) than many other age groups. Although the neural correlates of MDD in adults have been studied prospectively, such adolescent depression studies are mainly cross-sectional. We extracted data regarding the relationship between cortical thickness and later development of adolescent MDD from a national community study that uses an accelerated longitudinal design to examine the psychological, environmental, and neural differences related to drinking and brain development. Methods692 subjects (age 12–21 years; 50% female) without a history of MDD were assessed with structural neuroimaging at baseline. We compared those 101 subjects who transitioned to MDD by 1-year follow-up to those who remained non-depressed over the same time period. FreeSurfer's autosegmentation process estimated vertex-wide cortical thicknesses and its Query, Design, Estimate, Contrast (Qdec) application investigated cortical thickness between those who later developed MDD and those who remained without MDD (Monte Carlo corrected for multiple comparisons, vertex-wise cluster threshold of 1.3, p < 0.01). ResultsThose who transitioned in the next year to MDD had, at baseline, thinner cortices in the superior frontal cortex, precentral and postcentral regions, and superior temporal cortex, above and beyond effects attributable to age and sex. No cortical thickness sex differences or sex-by-depression interactions were observed. LimitationsA larger sample size could improve statistical power and future investigations will be needed to confirm our results. ConclusionsThinner cortices over frontal and temporal regions may be linked to enhanced vulnerability for future depression during the adolescent–young adulthood transition.

Large-scale sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from one region allows detailed epidemiology and enables local outbreak management.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly throughout the world. In the UK, the initial peak was in April 2020; in the county of Norfolk (UK) and surrounding areas, which has a stable, low-density population, over 3200 cases were reported between March and August 2020. As part of the activities of the national COVID-19 Genomics Consortium (COG-UK) we undertook whole genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes present in positive clinical samples from the Norfolk region. These samples were collected by four major hospitals, multiple minor hospitals, care facilities and community organizations within Norfolk and surrounding areas. We combined clinical metadata with the sequencing data from regional SARS-CoV-2 genomes to understand the origins, genetic variation, transmission and expansion (spread) of the virus within the region and provide context nationally. Data were fed back into the national effort for pandemic management, whilst simultaneously being used to assist local outbreak analyses. Overall, 1565 positive samples (172 per 100 000 population) from 1376 cases were evaluated; for 140 cases between two and six samples were available providing longitudinal data. This represented 42.6 % of all positive samples identified by hospital testing in the region and encompassed those with clinical need, and health and care workers and their families. In total, 1035 cases had genome sequences of sufficient quality to provide phylogenetic lineages. These genomes belonged to 26 distinct global lineages, indicating that there were multiple separate introductions into the region. Furthermore, 100 genetically distinct UK lineages were detected demonstrating local evolution, at a rate of ~2 SNPs per month, and multiple co-occurring lineages as the pandemic progressed. Our analysis: identified a discrete sublineage associated with six care facilities; found no evidence of reinfection in longitudinal samples; ruled out a nosocomial outbreak; identified 16 lineages in key workers which were not in patients, indicating infection control measures were effective; and found the D614G spike protein mutation which is linked to increased transmissibility dominates the samples and rapidly confirmed relatedness of cases in an outbreak at a food processing facility. The large-scale genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2-positive samples has provided valuable additional data for public health epidemiology in the Norfolk region, and will continue to help identify and untangle hidden transmission chains as the pandemic evolves.

Some Bibliographic References Tools

The rapid quantitative growth of scientific publications has pushed the development of various Internet tools for finding the necessary information. Statistics on its study and use (citation) are no less important than the search for the necessary information. This article discusses the citation support tools provided by Google Academy, Crossref, and other developers. In the Russian Federation, NEICON (a national consortium of Russian educational, scientific, and cultural organizations) provides technical and methodological support for working with DOI and other Crossref services. The article shows how the considered tools are built into the user interfaces of the IPM electronic library. Additional features provided by the specified tools are considered.

New national consortium to tackle anti-Indigenous racism in medical education.

Indigenous medical leaders across Canada have formed a national consortium on Indigenous medical education to collaborate on anti-racist reforms and culturally safe care. For years, this work has fallen to individual educators and physicians at different organizations, said Dr. Lisa Richardson,

Reactor Laboratory for Biomedical Research in National Centre for Nuclear Research in Poland

Abstract National Centre for Nuclear Research, NCBJ is one of the biggest research institutes in Poland, in which scientists deal with basic research in the various fields of subatomic physics, development of nuclear technologies and practical applications of nuclear physics methods, including those for nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. NCBJ operates the only Polish nuclear research reactor MARIA, around which a Reactor Laboratory for Biomedical Research, RLBR has been built in the last 4 years. One of the main aims of the RLBR team is to adapt the H2 channel, one of the eight MARIA’s horizontal channels, to a specific irradiation facility delivering a high flux thermal/epithermal neutron beam. The beam derived from the channel will be a tool for biological, physical and material studies for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, BNCT. While NCBJ is focused on building a neutron research facility, the Polish scientific community expressed its interest in BNCT development and implementation as an alternative therapy for cancer treatment. Through the working group meetings organized in the form of regular scientific workshops since 2015, it led to the establishment of a national scientific consortium dedicated to BNCT. Polish Consortium for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy agreement was initially signed by twelve institutions including scientific institutes, universities and oncological centres in October 2019. National Centre for Nuclear Research was appointed the leader of the consortium. A year later the consortium was enlarged by two more institutions.

46213 Florida Community-Engaged Research Alliance Against COVID-19 in Disproportionately Affected Communities (FL-CEAL): addressing education, awareness, access, and inclusion of underserved communities in COVID-19 research

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Understanding the needs and barriers or facilitators to participation in research, especially among minority communities is critical not only for COVID-19 research but also for future clinical and translational research and health disparities studies. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The overall goal of this project is to enhance education, awareness, access, and inclusion of underserved communities across Florida in COVID-19 research, especially among Black and Hispanic minority groups that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Through strategic partnership among five academic institutions and community-based organizations across the state of Florida, the FL-CEAL team will implement focus groups and surveys in minority communities in Florida to gauge the awareness and understanding of COVID-19, and the barriers and facilitators for participation in COVID-19 research studies. These communities include but are not limited to Latinx and Black populations in South and Central Florida, and Black communities in North Florida. The outcomes will help shape strategies for outreach and dissemination activities and minority recruitment plans to promote participation of minorities into vaccine and therapeutic trials. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: An estimated 75-125 participants will be recruited for focus groups. Four focus groups with minority communities have been conducted and the results are being analyzed. A common Community-Based Needs Assessment survey is being finalized and will be deployed across the 11 states that are part of the national CEAL consortium. Community Health Workers are being engaged to support outreach and dissemination to educate targeted communities on COVID-19 research and the importance of participation in COVID trials. To date, 243 CHWs and 880 community members have been engaged. Minority participation in COVID-19 vaccine trials at University of Miami has been higher than the national average. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: The FL-CEAL Alliance has successfully demonstrated a coordinated effort to engage minority communities affected by COVID. Through strategic geographic partnerships, FL-CEAL will positively impact minority communities throughout the state that has one of the most diverse populations in the nation.

COVID-19 and Breast Radiologist Wellness: Impact of Gender, Financial Loss, and Childcare Need.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the emotional and financial impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on breast radiologists to understand potential consequences on physician wellness and gender disparities in radiology.MethodsA 41-question survey was distributed from June to September 2020 to members of the Society of Breast Imaging and the National Consortium of Breast Centers. Psychological distress and financial loss scores were calculated on the basis of survey responses and compared across gender and age subgroups. A multivariate logistic model was used to identify factors associated with psychological distress scores.ResultsA total of 628 surveys were completed (18% response rate); the mean respondent age was 52 ± 10 years, and 79% were women. Anxiety was reported by 68% of respondents, followed by sadness (41%), sleep problems (36%), anger (25%), and depression (23%). A higher psychological distress score correlated with female gender (odds ratio [OR], 1.9; P = .001), younger age (OR, 0.8 per SD; P = .005), and a higher financial loss score (OR, 1.4; P < .0001). Participants whose practices had not initiated wellness efforts specific to COVID-19 (54%) had higher psychological distress scores (OR, 1.4; P = .03). Of those with children at home, 38% reported increased childcare needs, higher in women than men (40% versus 29%, P < .001). Thirty-seven percent reported that childcare needs had adversely affected their jobs, which correlated with higher psychological distress scores (OR, 2.2-3.3; P < .05).ConclusionsPsychological distress was highest among younger and female respondents and those with greater pandemic-specific childcare needs and financial loss. Practice-initiated COVID-19-specific wellness efforts were associated with decreased psychological distress. Policies are needed to mitigate pandemic-specific burnout and worsening gender disparities.

Acceptability, Validity, and Engagement With a Mobile App for Frequent, Continuous Multiyear Assessment of Youth Health Behaviors (mNCANDA): Mixed Methods Study.

BackgroundLongitudinal studies of many health behaviors often rely on infrequent self-report assessments. The measurement of psychoactive substance use among youth is expected to improve with more frequent mobile assessments, which can reduce recall bias. Researchers have used mobile devices for longitudinal research, but studies that last years and assess youth continuously at a fine-grained, temporal level (eg, weekly) are rare. A tailored mobile app (mNCANDA [mobile National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence]) and a brief assessment protocol were designed specifically to provide a feasible platform to elicit responses to health behavior assessments in longitudinal studies, including NCANDA (National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence).ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine whether an acceptable mobile app system could provide repeatable and valid assessment of youth’s health behaviors in different developmental stages over extended follow-up.MethodsParticipants were recruited (n=534; aged 17-28 years) from a larger longitudinal study of neurodevelopment. Participants used mNCANDA to register reports of their behaviors for up to 18 months. Response rates as a function of time measured using mNCANDA and participant age were modeled using generalized estimating equations to evaluate response rate stability and age effects. Substance use reports captured using mNCANDA were compared with responses from standardized interviews to assess concurrent validity. Reactivity was assessed by evaluating patterns of change in substance use after participants initiated weekly reports via mNCANDA. Quantitative feedback about the app was obtained from the participants. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of participants who used the app for at least one month to obtain feedback on user experience, user-derived explanations of some quantitative results, and suggestions for system improvements.ResultsThe mNCANDA protocol adherence was high (mean response rate 82%, SD 27%) and stable over time across all age groups. The median time to complete each assessment was 51 s (mean response time 1.14, SD 1.03 min). Comparisons between mNCANDA and interview self-reports on recent (previous 30 days) alcohol and cannabis use days demonstrate close agreement (eg, within 1 day of reported use) for most observations. Models used to identify reactivity failed to detect changes in substance use patterns subsequent to enrolling in mNCANDA app assessments (P>.39). Most participants (64/76, 84%) across the age range reported finding the mNCANDA system acceptable. Participants provided recommendations for improving the system (eg, tailoring signaling times).ConclusionsmNCANDA provides a feasible, multi-year, continuous, fine-grained (eg, weekly) assessment of health behaviors designed to minimize respondent burden and provides acceptable regimes for long-term self-reporting of health behaviors. Fine-grained characterization of variability in behaviors over relatively long periods (eg, up to 18 months) may, through the use of mNCANDA, improve our understanding of the relationship between substance use exposure and neurocognitive development.

An Academic-Practice Partnership to Advance Million Hearts®.

An academic-practice partnership between a college department of nursing, the YMCA, and one health system was developed to provide student learning opportunities in cardiovascular disease prevention, while advancing the goal of Million Hearts®. Using The Ohio State University College of Nursing's Million Hearts Fellowship Module, students learned to provide Million Hearts screenings, educate and coach participants in the college and greater community, and deliver a free home blood pressure monitor. Pre- and postscores were obtained to assess change in students' knowledge and participants' blood pressure, lifestyle scores, and perceived stress scores. A statistically significant improvement in mean participant blood pressure and lifestyle scores was observed. This academic-practice partnership provided an opportunity for students to learn about prevention within a national, population health initiative and for participants to achieve measurable, healthy outcomes. The college's participation in a national Million Hearts consortium enabled practice partners to prioritize cardiovascular disease prevention in the community. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(2):103-106.].

The History and Future of the Society of Undergraduate Humanities Publications

The vignette describes the Society of Undergraduate Humanities Publications, a national consortium of elite undergraduate publications based on egalitarian principles.

Addressing priorities for surgical research in Africa: implementation of a multicentre cloud-based peri-operative registry in Ethiopia.

SummaryIn resource‐constrained settings, where inequalities in access to and quality of surgical care results in excess mortality, peri‐operative care registries are uncommon. A south‐south collaboration supported the implementation of a context specific, clinician‐led, multicentre real‐time peri‐operative registry in Ethiopia. Peri‐operative information, including the Ethiopian Ministry of Health’s national ‘Saving Lives through Safe Surgery initiative’, was linked to real‐time dashboards, providing clinicians and administrators with information on service utilisation, surgical access, national surgical key performance indicators and measures of quality of care. We recruited four hospitals representing 285 in‐patient beds from the Amhara and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples regions and Addis Ababa city, and reported on 1748 consecutive surgical cases from April 2019 to April 2020. Key performance indicators included: compliance with the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist in 1595 (92.1%) surgical cases; adverse events during anaesthesia in 33 (3.1%) cases; and surgical site infections in 21 (2.0%) patients. This collaboration has successfully implemented a multicentre digital surgical registry that can enable measurement of key performance indicators for surgery and evaluation of peri‐operative outcomes. The peri‐operative registry is currently being rolled out across the Amhara region and Addis Ababa city administration. It will provide continuous granular healthcare information necessary to empower clinicians to drive context‐specific priorities for service improvement and research, in collaboration with national stakeholders and international research consortiums.

Impact of COVID-19 on Breast Imaging Practice Operations and Recovery Efforts: A North American Study.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast imaging facilities’ operations and recovery efforts across North America.MethodsA survey on breast imaging facilities’ operations and strategies for recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic was distributed to the membership of the Society of Breast Imaging and National Consortium of Breast Centers from June 4, 2020, to July 14, 2020. A descriptive summary of responses was performed. Comparisons were made between demographic variables of respondents and questions of interest using a Pearson chi-square test.ResultsThere were 473 survey respondents (response rate of 13%). The majority of respondents (70%; 332/473) reported 80%–100% breast imaging volume reduction, with 94% (447/473) reporting postponement of screening mammography. The majority of respondents (97%; 457/473) continued to perform biopsies. There were regional differences in safety measures taken for staff (P = 0.004), with practices in the West more likely reporting no changes in the work environment compared to other regions. The most common changes to patients’ experience included spacing out of furniture in waiting rooms (94%; 445/473), limiting visitors (91%; 430/473), and spacing out appointments (83%). A significantly higher proportion of practices in the Northeast (95%; 104/109) initiated patient scheduling changes compared to other regions (P = 0.004).ConclusionCOVID-19 had an acute impact on breast imaging facilities. Although common national operational patterns emerged, geographic variability was notable in particular in recovery efforts. These findings may inform future best practices for delivering breast imaging care amid the ongoing and geographically shifting COVID-19 pandemic.

Retaining Adolescent and Young Adult Participants in Research During a Pandemic: Best Practices From Two Large-Scale Developmental Neuroimaging Studies (NCANDA and ABCD).

The novel coronavirus pandemic that emerged in late 2019 (COVID-19) has created challenges not previously experienced in human research. This paper discusses two large-scale NIH-funded multi-site longitudinal studies of adolescents and young adults – the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study – and valuable approaches to learn about adaptive processes for conducting developmentally sensitive research with neuroimaging and neurocognitive testing across consortia during a global pandemic. We focus on challenges experienced during the pandemic and modifications that may guide other projects, such as implementing adapted protocols that protect the safety of participants and research staff, and addressing assessment challenges through the use of strategies such as remote and mobile assessments. Given the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on participants typically underrepresented in research, we describe efforts to retain these individuals. The pandemic provides an opportunity to develop adaptive processes that can facilitate future studies’ ability to mobilize effectively and rapidly.

Justice community opioid innovation network (JCOIN): The TCU research hub

Recognizing the current opioid crisis among justice-involved individuals and the need to intervene at the intersection of justice and community health, the JCOIN TCU hub study explores outcomes associated with a multi-level hybrid implementation approach. The study capitalizes on facilitated collaboration, training, and cross-system data sharing to leverage improvements in criminal justice (CJ) and community behavioral health (CBH) interagency collaboration. The goal is to improve local community public health and safety outcomes for reentering justice-involved individuals who have a history of (or are at risk for) using opioids. The study compares two implementation strategies: one (vertical) in which all units in a community are trained and begin the program simultaneously and another (horizontal) in which one lead-off unit in the community is trained as a prototype of the program, the prototype is tested and refined, and then the lead-off unit helps to train other units within the community. Specific aims are to 1) increase access to and retention in CBH and medications for opioid use disorder services; 2) improve outcomes associated with public health and safety; 3) compare two implementation strategies on systems-level outcomes designed to increase service initiation and receipt of implementation and services; and 4) examine the impact of these strategies on justice-involved individuals' outcomes. The study examines both implementation and implementation-effectiveness, seeking to answer the questions of which implementation strategy is most effective for rapid and sustainable uptake of evidence-based practices and for increasing service linkage and initiation, services retention, and improved opioid-related public health safety outcomes. The study uses a hybrid type 3 study design. The study's primary aim is to compare two implementation strategies and two interventions at two levels (client and system), with a secondary aim to assess client-level outcomes associated with the trial. The study design integrates 2 robust methodologies (stepped wedge and cluster randomized trial), and plans to include 18 research performance sites (communities) located in Texas, New Mexico, and Illinois. The study will contribute to the JCOIN network's effort to establish a national consortium of investigators examining promising strategies to enhance the capabilities and capacity of the justice system to more effectively address the opioid epidemic.

Longitudinal Correlation Analysis for Decoding Multi-modal Brain Development.

Starting from childhood, the human brain restructures and rewires throughout life. Characterizing such complex brain development requires effective analysis of longitudinal and multi-modal neuroimaging data. Here, we propose such an analysis approach named Longitudinal Correlation Analysis (LCA). LCA couples the data of two modalities by first reducing the input from each modality to a latent representation based on autoencoders. A self-supervised strategy then relates the two latent spaces by jointly disentangling two directions, one in each space, such that the longitudinal changes in latent representations along those directions are maximally correlated between modalities. We applied LCA to analyze the longitudinal T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted MRIs of 679 youths from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence. Unlike existing approaches that focus on either cross-sectional or single-modal modeling, LCA successfully unraveled coupled macrostructural and microstructural brain development from morphological and diffusivity features extracted from the data. A retesting of LCA on raw 3D image volumes of those subjects successfully replicated the findings from the feature-based analysis. Lastly, the developmental effects revealed by LCA were inline with the current understanding of maturational patterns of the adolescent brain.

Research informatics and the COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges, innovations, lessons learned, and recommendations.

The recipients of NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) have worked for over a decade to build informatics infrastructure in support of clinical and translational research. This infrastructure has proved invaluable for supporting responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic through direct patient care, clinical decision support, training researchers and practitioners, as well as public health surveillance and clinical research to levels that could not have been accomplished without the years of ground-laying work by the CTSAs. In this paper, we provide a perspective on our COVID-19 work and present relevant results of a survey of CTSA sites to broaden our understanding of the key features of their informatics programs, the informatics-related challenges they have experienced under COVID-19, and some of the innovations and solutions they developed in response to the pandemic. Responses demonstrated increased reliance by healthcare providers and researchers on access to electronic health record (EHR) data, both for local needs and for sharing with other institutions and national consortia. The initial work of the CTSAs on data capture, standards, interchange, and sharing policies all contributed to solutions, best illustrated by the creation, in record time, of a national clinical data repository in the National COVID-19 Cohort Collaborative (N3C). The survey data support seven recommendations for areas of informatics and public health investment and further study to support clinical and translational research in the post-COVID-19 era.

Closing evidence gaps in general practice & family medicine. Selected Abstracts from the 92nd EGPRN Meeting – Virtual Conference, 30 April to 1 May 2021

Research in general practice covers the whole of medicine, including clinical and contextual issues. Defining the focus of research is, therefore, not easy. Knowledge and preferences of researchers and funding agencies may dominate above the real problems faced by patients and society. In addition, topic selection and prioritisation are often not coordinated, leading to duplication and research waste. A research agenda could help focus on the issues that matter most.In the Netherlands, we developed a national research agenda involving general practitioners (GPs), researchers, patients and other relevant stakeholders in healthcare. We reviewed knowledge gaps from 90 Dutch general practice guidelines and received input from 48 healthcare stakeholders to formulate research questions relevant for general practice. This resulted in a long list of 787 research questions. These were prioritised by practising GPs (n = 232) in an online survey and in an invitational conference, including GPs (n = 48) and representatives of other stakeholders in healthcare (n = 16). The prioritising procedure resulted in 24 top 10 lists of research questions categorised according to ICPC chapters and overarching themes such as person-centred care, eHealth, and organisation of care. An advisory board composed of general practice research departments representatives, the Dutch College of GPs, GP trainees, and patient organisations supported the whole process.The national research agenda provided an enormous boost in general practice research as well as in collaboration between research departments. A national general practice research programme has been launched to address the questions in the agenda. Collaboration instead of competition between research departments and institutes is encouraged within this programme. They are united in a national consortium supported by the Dutch College of GPs to facilitate collaboration between data registration networks and initiate large-scale multicentered trials.The Dutch general practice research agenda could be an example for other countries and international collaboration. Opportunities to collaborate within the EGPRN to set up an international research agenda are challenging. This could include cross-border themes such as infectious diseases, migrant care, and planetary health. A shared agenda could also increase the chances of obtaining European funding. It is time now for international collaboration in general practice research contributing to health that matters to all.