Europe is placing an ever-greater emphasis on cooperation and data-driven care in order to detect chronic respiratory conditions earlier and treat them more effectively. Under the EU4Health programme, countries, healthcare professionals, researchers, patient organisations and public health authorities are working on joint approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment. A key component of this is the three-year Joint Action JARED, in which fourteen EU countries, Iceland, Ukraine and Moldova are collaborating.
JARED has received nearly 5 million euros in EU4Health funding. The project aims to translate existing knowledge and proven practices into solutions that can be applied within different national healthcare systems. Digital technology, improved access to diagnostics and the enhancement of health literacy play a key role in this.
A common dataset as a foundation
A key challenge in European collaboration is that health data and working methods vary between countries. To make results more comparable and usable, JARED is therefore developing a minimum dataset for chronic respiratory diseases. Such a common basis should ensure that participating countries can collect and analyse data in a more uniform manner.
As part of the project, nearly 1,200 people at increased risk have now been screened for COPD using a harmonised, spirometry-based approach. In addition, more than 420 patients are taking part in studies into digital support for self-management. JARED has also conducted surveys on prevention and specific chronic inflammatory lung diseases. The results have been compiled into datasets intended to serve as a basis for future recommendations.
This harmonisation is important because collaboration at European level requires more than simply combining individual national research results. Common definitions and comparable data are needed to investigate differences between populations and healthcare systems and, ultimately, to make interventions more widely applicable.
From data to predictive models
The next step is not only to use the collected clinical data descriptively, but also to investigate how it can contribute to the earlier identification of risks. Within the collaboration, work is therefore underway on predictive models that can support healthcare professionals in identifying patients at increased risk of chronic respiratory diseases or a worsening of these conditions.
The combination of standardised data, diagnostics and digital technology can form an important basis for this. At the same time, the applicability of such models depends on the quality and comparability of the underlying data. It is precisely for this reason that agreements on a minimum dataset and harmonised screening methods are an important part of the European approach. Inclusivity is also a guiding principle. JARED pays particular attention to vulnerable groups, ensuring that new methods and digital applications are not developed solely for patients who have easy access to healthcare.
Twenty action plans for implementation
Ultimately, the collaboration must lead, above all, to changes in practice. JARED is therefore working towards eighteen national action plans and two European action plans. These are intended to translate insights from the project into concrete strategies for the prevention and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases.
The national plans can take into account differences between healthcare systems, available diagnostic tools and local populations. The two European plans, on the other hand, are specifically intended to strengthen common principles and cross-border cooperation.
This creates an approach in which data collection, research and implementation are explicitly linked: first, agreeing on what information is required; then investigating how that data can be used for screening and prediction; and finally determining how the outcomes can be integrated into national and European healthcare practices.
Broader European network
JARED is not working in isolation. Within EU4Health, there are various initiatives focusing on lung health. Joint Action SAFE, for example, brings together sixty partner organisations from 23 countries to reduce tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke and aerosols. The LungHealth4Life project, on the other hand, focuses specifically on children and combines education on lung health with lung function tests in primary schools.
The European Commission is seeking to link these various initiatives through joint meetings and the exchange of knowledge. For JARED, the main emphasis is on how countries can use a shared knowledge and data base to achieve earlier diagnosis, better patient support and an approach that is feasible across diverse healthcare systems.
AI algorithm for earlier detection
Last year, researchers at Amsterdam UMC developed an AI algorithm that could help GPs identify patients at increased risk of lung cancer up to four months earlier than current methods. Unlike models that rely mainly on coded information, the algorithm also analyses free text in electronic patient records, detecting subtle patterns in medical histories.
The model was tested using data from more than 525,000 patients across four academic GP networks in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen. Among them, 2,386 lung cancer diagnoses were validated through the Dutch Cancer Registry. Nearly two-thirds of patients with lung cancer could have been referred up to four months earlier than in routine practice.
The risk assessment can be performed during a regular GP consultation without additional procedures for patients. On average, one lung cancer case was identified for every 34 patients flagged by the algorithm. The researchers see the approach as a step towards earlier, data-driven cancer detection in primary care.
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