NEWS
A 10 minutes e-learning: Safe and effective management of primary care patients with acute cough while reducing unnecessary antibiotic use was delivered by TRACE and The Tipping Point on the European Antibiotic Awareness Day of 18 November 2016. This e-learning resource features a 10 minute review of the 8 elements for an effective consultation. It challenges you to unlock the related patient booklet 'Caring for coughs' very much liked by patients when clinicians use it in their consultation. For this e-learning a multidisciplinary team of primary care researchers and experts in learning theories very carefully adapted the most effective part of the online GRACE INTRO intervention (Lancet 2013;382:1175-82), i.e. online communication skills training supported by a patient booklet to be used interactively during the consultation and endorsed by the European Antibiotic Awareness Day. This intervention has shown to effectively and safely reduce antibiotic prescribing for patients presenting to primary care with acute cough (respiratory infections) in Belgium, England, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Wales, and participating clinicians and patients were very keen to use the tools provided (J Gen Intern Med 2015;30;408-16 and npj Prim Care Resp Med 2014;24:14026, respectively). Take the challenge here.
Project Contact
Samuel Coenen: Samuel.coenen[at]uantwerpen.be
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Janko Kersnik, representing Slovenia (Osnovno Zdravstvo Gorenjske) in TRACE, passed away unexpectedly. He was very committed to the educational package we are developing within TRACE and we had a lot of fruitful interactions regarding the participation of the Slovenian primary care research network and the role of WONCA in PREPARE. It will be a challenge to replace him. We will extend our condolences to his family.
The Belgian Antibiotic Policy Coordination Committee (BAPCOC) developed a comic on correct use of antibiotics as part of its most recent antibiotic awareness campaign. Next to online and print versions in Dutch and French, an online version of this comic is now also available in English. Please enjoy reading the Luke and Lucy comic ‘Auntie Biotica’ here
More information on correct use of antibiotics can be found here
More information on microbes can be found here
The most recent issue of the TRACE Newsletter (December 2014) can be accessed here. TRACE is involved in exciting a new research, PREPARE, and welcomes a new Steering Committee member. In addition to these and other news items, a vast amount of GRACE and TRACE results are presented. Finally, this issue of TRACE News features information on the most recent and the next TRACE Steering Committee Meeting.
Below the project summary, please find links to TRACE publications, the GRACE e-Learning Platform and the Acknowledgement statement to be used in all TRACE output.
Summary
Uncertainties in infectious disease management have resulted in prescriptive promiscuity, which largely explains the escalating antibiotic resistance of common bacterial respiratory pathogens in the community. Technologies and solutions are available to address these issues, and the individual areas of expertise do exist in Europe, but the problem is in integrating these.
Therefore, TRACE (Translational Research on Antimicrobial resistance and Community-acquired infections in Europe) was launched on Thursday June 16 2011, in Antwerp, supported by ESF (European Science Foundation), 17 GRACE (Genomics to combat Resistance against Antibiotics in Community-acquired LRTI in Europe;www.grace-lrti.org) and 5 other partners. TRACE aims to consolidate the expertise integrated in several research programmes, in particular within the GRACE Network of Excellence, beyond EC funding, and to apply it to steer ongoing and to deploy new research activities, and to disseminate its results.
GRACE has been a unique and successful Network of Excellence encompassing 20 Primary Care Networks in 15 EU countries, human and microbial genomics, collaboration with the major infectious disease and primary care societies, SME’s, integrated by means of state-of-the-art ICT. The GRACE concept serves as a model for TRACE aiming to complement the ongoing activities substantially.
TRACE will produce a brochure, a website and a newsletter. To disseminate the results of GRACE, but also of other EU funded projects like CHAMP (www.champ-antibiotics.org) and HAPPY AUDIT (www.happyaudit.org) represented by their coordinators in TRACE, train-the-trainer courses will be organised. For that purpose, we are also very grateful that the European Respiratory Society (ERS; www.ersnet.org) is willing to maintain the GRACE e-learning platform (www.ers-education.org/events/courses.aspx), established with the support of both the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Europe (ESCMID; www.escmid.org) and ERS. In addition, TRACE will facilitate the development of new translational research applications and sustain the expertise in this field.
Together with our partners in 16 EU countries, and our partners in Australia and Hong Kong, we truly hope that TRACE will succeed in sustaining the translational research on antimicrobial resistance and community-acquired infections in Europe and beyond, and in providing compelling evidence for the wisdom of further investment in Networks of Excellence in Europe.
TRACE publications
Papers:
- Hordijk PM, Broekhuizen BDL, Butler CC, Coenen S, Godycki-Cwirko M, Goossens H, Hood K, Smith R, van Vugt SF, Little P, Verheij TJM. Illness perception and related behaviour in lower respiratory tract infections--a European study. Fam Pract 2014; doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmu075: click here
- Anthierens S, Tonkin-Crine S, Cals JW, Coenen S, Yardley L, Brookes-Howell L, Fernandez-Vandellos P, Krawczyk J, Godycki-Cwirko M, Llor C, Butler CC, Verheij T, Goossens H, Little P, Francis NA on behalf of the GRACE/CHAMP INTRO team. Clinicians’ views and experiences of interventions to enhance the quality of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections. J Gen Intern Med 2014; DOI 10.1007/s11606-014-3076-6: click here
- Coenen S, Francis N, Kelly M, Hood K, Nuttal J, Little P, Verheij TJM, Melbye H, Goossens H, Butler CC on behalf of the GRACE Project Group. Are patient views about antibiotics related to clinician perceptions, management and outcome? A multi-country study in outpatients with acute cough. Plos One 2013; 8(10):e76691: click here
- Finch RG, Blasi FB, Verheij TJM, Goossens H, Coenen S, Loens K, et al. GRACE and the development of an education and training curriculum. Clin Microbiol Infec 2012;18:E308-13: click here
TRACE News:
December 2014: click here.
October 2013: click here.
March 2013: click here.
August 2011: click here.
TRACE leaflet:
October 2014 version: Click on here
October 2013 version: Click on here
June 2012 version: Click on here
GRACE e-Learning Platform and Acknowledgement statement
GRACE e-Learning Platform
*The educational curriculum established by GRACE is available at www.ers-education.org/events/courses.aspx (search for GRACE workshops) and is described in a paper by Finch R et al. in Clin Microbiol Inf 2012; 18:E308-13 (click here).
Acknowledgement statement
The work reported on in this publication has been financially supported
by Bond University (Australia), Research Foundation – Flanders, University of Antwerp, University of Ghent (Belgium), Chinese University of Hong Kong (China), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Research Council of Health, Academy of Finland (Finland), College Azuréen des Généralistes Enseignants, Comité Départemental d’Education pour la Santé (France), Rostock University (Germany), The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, AMC Amsterdam, Leiden UMC, UMC Utrecht (The Netherlands), Research Council of Norway, University of Oslo, University of Tromso (Norway), Medical University of Bialystok, Medical University of Lodz (Poland), National University Research Council (Romania), Osnovno zdravstvo Gorenjske (Slovenia), l’Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (Spain), Swedish Research Council, Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Medical Research Council, Cardiff University, University of Oxford, University of Southampton (United Kingdom), Swiss National Science Foundation (Switzerland)
through the European Science Foundation (ESF), in the framework of the Research Networking Programme TRACE (www.esf.org/trace).
Membership
2014
Professor Helena Hupkova has passed away very suddenly. She represented Zdrave Mesto (Slovakia) within TRACE. We will remember Helena Hupkova as a very valuable partner in the GRACE Network of Excellence and later in the TRACE network.
Professor Jaana Vuopia will succeed Professor Pentti Huovinen as representative for Finland in the TRACE Steering Committee.
2013
The University of Oslo has decided to join TRACE and Professor Morten Lindbæk will represent the university within TRACE (2013).
Professor Heiner C. Bucher has been nominated as the new Swiss representative in the TRACE Steering Committee.
2012
Professor Kathrin Mühlemann died lately after a short illness. She represented the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) within TRACE. Kathrin Mühlemann lead the Team der Infectiologie, Spitalhygiene und Zentralsterilisation at the Institut für Infectionskrankheiten of the University of Bern and leaves them with a grateful memory of her ability to successfully combine her clinical work, her education and her research.
Duration
5 years, from June 2011 to June 2016 (09-RNP-053)
