Research Network (CTN)
Establishment of an ESA Clinical Trials Network (ESA CTN)
Aim
The aim of an ESA Clinical Trials Network (ESA CTN) is to provide an infrastructure that allows improving the care of patients in the fields of anaesthesia, pain, intensive care and emergency medicine through transnational European collaborative investigations.
Critical care networks in different parts of the world have shown that some of the most relevant clinical questions can only be answered if several centres join efforts. In Europe, many groups have undertaken successful clinical investigations in the field of intensive care medicine in past years but, unfortunately, long-term collaborative relationships have not been achieved.
In view of these facts, the ESA, as a society with more than 4400 members working in 95 countries, decided to establish the ESA CTN, which aims at facilitating, integrating and supporting clinical Anaesthesiology research conducted by active ESA members. The ESA CTN will be managed by the ESA Research Committee in collaboration with the ESA Scientific Committee and the National Anaesthesia Societies Committee, and will report to the ESA Board for its actions and activities. It will assist with communication, sponsorship, and grant applications to investigators and research groups. All network members will be voting members. Non-ESA members working with health care will be allowed to participate in the network activities but not to present proposals or vote.
Centres
As a first step in the establishment of the ESA CTN, a call for Anaesthesiology centres willing to participate in multicentre studies on anaesthesia, pain, intensive care and emergency medicine is published on the ESA website, and Heads of departments of Anaesthesiology have been informed per e-mail on that call by July 1st, 2010. These centres will constitute the first core of the ESA Clinical Trials Network, which first task will be to collaborate in an observational study to be announced by the ESA Research Committee by January 15th, 2011. For this observational study, an ESA website-based registry will be created to permit documentation of epidemiological data from Institutions affiliated to the ESA CTN, and assure high quality research. Registration to the network and use of the ESA Registry will be mandatory. In the near future, the ESA CTN will launch also multicentre interventional studies in the different fields of Anaesthesiology.
Finally, an ESA European Union Affairs office will be created with the following assignments: a) to help with applications for project funding at national and international institutions, including European Union (EU) grants for educational projects and scientific studies; b) to organise forums for discussion of research projects in the field of Anaesthesiology in European Countries, fostering communication within the research community; c) to stimulate public and political awareness on the importance of anaesthesia, pain, intensive care and emergency medicine in Europe; d) to proactively and directly involve the ESA in shaping EU policies at the highest societal and political levels. The ESA should be able to initiate public events and influence decision-making on issues related to Anesthesiology in the EU, with particular attention to education, science and research policies.
For further information about the ESA CTN, please contact:
Sandrine Damster
European Society of Anaesthesiology aisbl
Tel: 0032 (0)2 743 32 94
E-mail: sandrine@euroanaesthesia.org; research@euroanaesthesia.org
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