IPCRG collaborates on new UK-funded research to improve equity for people with COPD in Brazil, Argentina and Peru by improving diagnosis and management in primary care

Breathe Well South America, a four-year research programme funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will address the poor and inequitable access to quality primary healthcare for people with COPD – South America’s fourth leading cause of death. COPD disproportionately affects people living in poverty and importantly, at least three-quarters of cases remain undiagnosed,,  and, therefore, untreated.

Co-led by the University of Birmingham and the Universidad Científica del Sur (UCSUR) in Peru, the programme builds on the £2 million NIHR Global Health Research Group on Global COPD in Primary Care and its first Breathe Well project.

In addition to working with IPCRG, who will co-lead stakeholder engagement, the project leaders will partner with the Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS) in Argentina; the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil and IPCRG’s group GRESP Brazil; University College London (UCL).

The programme will assess the current quality of COPD primary care in Argentina, Brazil and Peru. The international research team will look at the governance and policy context, foundations, processes, quality and inequities in care, as well as the quality of healthcare records. 

The investigators will then develop a set of COPD quality indicators and an identification and treatment pathway for COPD patients in primary care. They will test the feasibility of these in different settings, and model cost-effectiveness, plus potential impact on health inequalities. 

Project co-lead, Professor Rachel Jordan, well known to IPCRG colleagues and a member of our Research Leadership Team commented: “COPD is a global killer and we’re working with partners across South America to improve healthcare outcomes for people with COPD. We aim to strengthen local capacity in partner countries and find the best ways to prevent, identify and treat COPD in the community.”

Co-lead for Stakeholder Engagement and IPCRG CEO Siân Williams added, “We are delighted that NIHR is funding a primary care study, so we can build on the studies already done by GRESP, our Brazilian group, and build new relationships with primary care colleagues in Argentina and Peru.” 

The three partner institutions (‘hubs’) in South America will work in equal partnership with and build capacity amongst colleagues from less-experienced institutions (‘spokes’). These spoke organisations are situated in contrasting geographical/economic areas and include some of the most disadvantaged populations. 

“We will benefit from the University of Birmingham’s huge experience in COPD research, and will offer our own expertise in working with staff from local primary care settings on non-communicable disease research projects, ensuring locally relevant results and directly improving the lives of people with COPD,” said Dr Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz, project co-lead from UCSUR.

Through these capacity-building activities, the programme aims to develop a sustainable research infrastructure and research leaders, in order to deliver high quality COPD research in the future. This will include training individuals on a range of generic, clinical and research skills and methods.

Co-led by IPCRG with GRESP Brazil and experts in Argentina, researchers will be supported to develop sustainable engagement with community members, clinical leaders and policy stakeholders, to ensure the study is rooted in local, national and regional needs with clear pathways to impact on health and healthcare. They will also engage with stakeholders at all levels to ensure the findings of the research are acted upon, and to explore opportunities for future studies.

The launch meeting was held in October 2024.

Formed in June 2017, the Breathe Well Group has already established partnerships with teams in Brazil, China, Georgia and Republic of North Macedonia and the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG). Find out more about the results of the first Breathe Well research programme here.