Using a Rapid Prioritisation Process to Identify Health Research Priorities in LMICs

Within the NIHR Breathe Well programme, the University of Birmingham is collaborating with four LMICs (Brazil, China, Georgia, FYR Macedonia) to develop research capacity in COPD care. A key focus is to identify health research priorities in each country; we aimed to design and conduct a pragmatic approach to achieve this. A novel prioritisation process was developed, informed by established approaches and discussion with investigators. Countries convened a stakeholder group of patients, healthcare professionals and policy makers. Prioritisation meetings included facilitated discussions where each study was discussed and rated on importance. All studies were then ranked in priority order. Results will be combined with those from the country’s research team and programme co-investigators, informing selection of future research studies. This abstract presents interim data from two countries; data from all four countries will be presented at the conference. Research teams held prioritisation meetings Oct-Dec 2017. The highest priority studies in both countries related to screening test strategies and clinical education for primary care staff. Other prioritised studies in Brazil related to pulmonary rehabilitation and quality COPD management, whereas Chinese participants also ranked smoking cessation and treatment for newly case-found COPD patients highly. The meetings were successful and the initiative was well-received by all stakeholders. The methods allowed priority research areas to be identified in each country. Initial findings suggest that our approach offers a feasible and rapid alternative for assessing health research priorities in LMICs, compared with established methods.