Danish family physician, professor at the University of Copenhagen, and one of Europe’s leading experts on bacterial resistance, Lars Bjerrum has recently joined the External Scientific Committee of our Institute. He was one of the speakers at the award ceremony of the IDIAPJGol-ICS Primary Care Research Grants, where he spoke about the international projection of IDIAPJGol.
Bjerrum highlighted the growing participation of IDIAPJGol in projects beyond our borders and the importance of continuing to grow in this area: “There are global problems that can only be addressed through international collaboration. […]. In addition, the major research funding sources are in Europe, and it is necessary to prepare in order to access them.” In this regard, he described the evolution of European projects such as Happy Audit and the more recent Happy Patient and Imagine, in which IDIAPJGol plays a key role through the Primary Care Infection Research Group (GRIP). The group led by Carles Llor has found in its collaboration with Bjerrum a pathway to growth through internationalization.
Bjerrum also advocated for “facilitating physician mobility to conduct research in other countries,” as stays abroad are decisive for establishing relationships and developing international projects. In his presentation, he also addressed his main field of study: the fight against bacterial resistance, which requires “breaking myths,” such as the belief that an antibiotic treatment should always be completed. “A long treatment causes more resistance than a short one. In the long term it is more harmful to health, and there is no evidence to support its effectiveness once symptoms have disappeared.”
IDIAPJGol – How did you get to know our research institute?
Lars Bjerrum – I lived in Barcelona for a while and, more than 20 years ago, I worked there with a pharmacoepidemiology group. As a family physician, I wanted to get to know more doctors from here. That’s why I contacted the president of CAMFiC (Dolors Forés), who referred me to the coordinator of the Infectious Research Group, Josep Cots. I met him during a conference at Hospital de Sant Pau; we talked and shared ideas, and that’s how the collaboration began. In fact, the last time I was in this building (the headquarters of the ICS) was with him. He suggested that I speak with the ICS so they could implement the rapid tests we were using in Denmark, a tool to reduce antibiotic use.
What was the first collaborative project with our institute?
It was HAPPY AUDIT, an ambitious project that we submitted to the European Commission in 2007. Getting a project approved by Europe is very difficult. I spent two months writing the application. In the end, we were successful and received the funding. It was a project involving collaboration between several countries—not only Spain and Denmark, but also Argentina, Sweden, and Norway. The goal was to reduce antibiotic use in the population, and we achieved interesting results.
Has this project continued over time?
Yes, we are now developing HAPPY PATIENT, a new program that pursues the same goal and involves additional countries such as France. We are also working on the IMAGINE project, which will run for three years. These are very strong collaborations that will have a major impact on antibiotic use in the future.
How do you assess the work carried out by IDIAPJGol?
Very positively—essential for carrying out all these projects. Personally, I really enjoy working with doctors from here; the level is very high. International collaboration is extremely important, and projects like these are clear proof of that.
