Global Health Respiratory Network (GHRN)
Improving respiratory health of the world's poorest through research collaborations
Introducing the GHRN
The Global Health Respiratory Network (GHRN) brings together UK-funded global respiratory research partnerships to build value through collaboration, enhance the funders' investment and meet our aim of improving respiratory health of the world’s poorest. The GHRN partners continue to meet, learn and share experiences even as many of the funded projects have completed. The Network aims are to leverage the capacities of its members to identify new ways to tackle challenges in the Global South and to improve the collective competitiveness and effectiveness of the network members. The UK-funded Global South-facing research collaborations share a focus on respiratory related illness and on capacity building and multidisciplinary research in active partnership with low and middle income country researchers.
GHRN Journal Club
In 2023 we relaunched the GHRN journal club together with the University of Edinburgh, hosted by epidemiologist Dr Nynke Halbesma. Please contact us if you are interested in being involved with any future sessions.
We held 6 journal club sessions over 2023. The sessions each focused on a different epidemiological study design (cross-sectional study, case-control study, cohort study, RCT, systematic review), followed by a discussion. The discussion topics were:
1. Presentation of paper on relevant study design, followed by questions (the paper and presentation will be selected and prepared by one of the members) (30 minutes)
2. Presentation by Dr Halbesma on the key features of the study design and how to critically appraise it, followed by questions (30 minutes).
Session 2: a) Cross sectional study paper presentation b) Cross sectional overview : Thursday 23rd March 2023 1pm UK time
Session 3: Tuesday 2nd May 1pm UK time a) Cohort study paper presentation b) Cohort study overview:
Session 4: Thursday 22nd June 2023 1pm UK time a) Case control study paper presentation b) Case control study overview:
Session 5: Based on what group members want to do next: Tuesday 19th September 1pm UK time
Session 6: Based on what group members want to do next: Thursday 23rd November 2023 1pm UK time
If you wish to join please contact neil [at] ipcrg [dot] org
Drawing attention to Respiratory Health
The GHRN aims to address the relatively low attention levels that respiratory disorders receive, despite being responsible for one in five deaths worldwide. Asthma, for example causes 1000 deaths per day yet only half the world’s countries collect asthma data. COPD also receives the lower levels of research funding that non-communicable diseases receive, particularly in low and middle income countries. The GHRN aims to change funders' approach to both communicable and non-communicable respiratory research, working together rather than in competition with each other.
The GHRN brings those working in public health, prevention, primary, secondary and palliative care research together, looking at respiratory health through a system-wide lens to – most importantly – lead to improvements in the respiratory health of the world’s poorest people.
Continuing to benefit members and partners
The GHRN has now run for over 5 years. In this time the Network has identified gaps and opportunities in the current project activities, built data collaboration, benefited from cross-site training and agreed and acted on priorities. We have come together as one voice to look at ways of improving how projects and funds are managed and have shared a rich variety of experiences. We continue to learn from each other as we move into a new stage, with some members and partners focusing on publications and some on new projects. The impressive list of publications (see below) helps to demonstrate the value of member projects and the extent of the reserach undertaken. This list can be downloaded and also searched on in the IPCRG resource tool. A full introduction, member and priority list is laid out in the published article ‘The UK’s Global Health Respiratory Network: Improving respiratory health of the world's poorest through research collaborations’
