Lessons From Covid For Next Health Crisis
The room in Biomedicum at Karolinska Institutet campus in Solna was packed on 20 March, when researchers and members of staff from government agencies and county councils gathered to share their experiences of register-based research and data release during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many had encountered similar problems, especially with long lead times and the difficulty of obtaining real-time data, but there were also several successes to highlight and learn from.
Photo: Åsa Svensson
It was the expert coordinators in infectious diseases and vaccine preparedness, Helena Hervius Askling , and health system resilience, Helena Nordenstedt , from the Centre for Health Crises at Karolinska Institutet who took the initiative and organised the half-day seminar, in collaboration with the National Board of Health and Welfare. Some fifty researchers from several universities and staff from the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Public Health Agency, the Swedish Ethical Review Authority, Smittskydd Stockholm, the Medical Products Agency and Statistics Sweden participated. The seminar began with presentations by researchers who had conducted register-based studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as by members of staff from authorities involved in data management, decision-making around releasing data, and collaboration with universities. This was followed by a bustling discussion on what we can learn to be better prepared for the next pandemic, what successes should be capitalised on and what challenges should be addressed in the next health crisis.
– Sweden is often portrayed as a paradise for researchers conducting register-based research, which is true in many ways, but being able to properly use and analyse relevant data during an ongoing health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is a particular challenge. We need to do it to quickly understand which population groups are affected and in what way, so that the right response can be initiated as soon as possible. During the seminar, we learned about several good examples of cooperation between regions, authorities and academia, which related in concrete actions and advice. We also saw examples of difficulties in utilising the full potential of the data available in the regions, where both lack of skills, time and infrastructure and unfamiliarity with collaborating with academia were mentioned,” says Helena Hervius Askling.
Successes to build on and challenges to address
Good collaboration, previous experience in register-based research, ongoing register-based research before and between crises, strong commitment, new ways of working and new ways of thinking – these were some of the common keys to success that both researchers and government authorities saw during the pandemic. Everyone agreed that these successes need to be maintained and expanded upon now, so that they remain there ready to be put to use again.
Simplifying processes, improving national coordination, ensuring that requestors and recipients understand each other and that formalised processes are in place in advance, were a few of the improvements highlighted to avoid the problems and obstacles that arose during the pandemic.
– Being able to meet and have these types of conversations during periods when there is not an immediate health crisis is invaluable to be better prepared when it does happen. This is precisely why we at the Centre for Health Crises want to create forums such as this. We see it as one of the roles of universities; to be a space where not only we researchers ourselves, but also others who are affected, such as authorities and representatives of regions, can meet, learn from each other, and have a developing dialogue, says Helena Hervius Askling.
The Centre for Health Crises will continue to pursue the question of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, not least in light of the fact that this year marks the fifth anniversary of the outbreak. More events are planned and the outcome of the seminar on 20 March will continue to be discussed among the participating presenters.
https://news.ki.se/lessons-from-covid-19-for-the-next-health-crisis-challenges-and-successes-of-swedish-register-based-research