Diverse roles of Primary Health Care in COVID-19 vaccination across 28 European countries - Insights from the Eurodata study.

Background: The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in several European countries involved collaboration between public health and Primary Health Care (PHC).

Objective: To highlight the role of PHC professionals in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, specifically in terms of vaccine administration, communication and contributing to vaccination population coverage.

Methods: A descriptive retrospective study of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign across 28 European countries was conducted, covering data from December 2020 to November 2021.

The Use of COVID-19 Mobile Apps in Connecting Patients with Primary Healthcare in 30 Countries: Eurodata Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated changes in European healthcare systems, with a significant proportion of COVID-19 cases being managed on an outpatient basis in primary healthcare (PHC). To alleviate the burden on healthcare facilities, many European countries developed contact-tracing apps and symptom checkers to identify potential cases. As the pandemic evolved, the European Union introduced the Digital COVID-19 Certificate for travel, which relies on vaccination, recent recovery, or negative test results.

Exploring the accessibility of primary health care data in Europe's COVID-19 response: developing key indicators for managing future pandemics (Eurodata study).

Background: Primary Health Care (PHC) plays a crucial role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 8% of cases requiring hospitalization. However, PHC COVID-19 data often goes unnoticed on European government dashboards and in media discussions. This project aims to examine official information on PHC patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, with specific objectives: (1) Describe PHC's clinical pathways for acute COVID-19 cases, including long-term care facilities, (2) Describe PHC COVID-19 pandemic indicators, (3) Develop COVID-19 PHC activity indicators, (4) Explain PHC's role in vaccination strategies, and (5) Create a PHC contingency plan for future pandemics.

Primary care indicators for disease burden, monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 in 31 European countries: Eurodata Study.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of patients received ambulatory treatment, highlighting the importance of primary health care (PHC). However, there is limited knowledge regarding PHC workload in Europe during this period. The utilization of COVID-19 PHC indicators could facilitate the efficient monitoring and coordination of the pandemic response.

The role of primary health care in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in 30 European countries: a retrospective descriptive study (Eurodata study).

Background And Aim: Primary health care (PHC) supported long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in attending COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study is to describe the role of PHC in LTCFs in Europe during the early phase of the pandemic.

Methods: Retrospective descriptive study from 30 European countries using data from September 2020 collected with an ad hoc semi-structured questionnaire.

Open data for monitoring COVID-19 in Spain: Descriptive study.

Background: The indicators of the pandemic have been based on the total number of diagnosed cases of COVID-19, the number of people hospitalized or in intensive care units, and deaths from the infection. The aim of this study is to describe the available data on diagnostic tests, health service used for the diagnosis of COVID-19, case detection and monitoring.

Method: Descriptive study with review of official data available on the websites of the Spanish health councils corresponding to 17 Autonomous Communities, 2 Autonomous cities and the Ministry of Health.

12-year evolution of multimorbidity patterns among older adults based on Hidden Markov Models.

Background: The evolution of multimorbidity patterns during aging is still an under-researched area. We lack evidence concerning the time spent by older adults within one same multimorbidity pattern, and their transitional probability across different patterns when further chronic diseases arise. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by exploring multimorbidity patterns across decades of age in older adults, and longitudinal dynamics among these patterns.

SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia follow-up and long COVID in primary care: A retrospective observational study in Madrid city.

Background: Patients with COVID-19 are follow-up in primary care and long COVID is scarcely defined. The study aim was to describe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and cut-offs for defining long COVID in primary care follow-up patients.

Methods: A retrospective observational study in primary care in Madrid, Spain, was conducted.

Using mobile applications and websites for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in Spain.

Introduction: New tools are needed for early evaluation of patients who could be infected by COVID-19 during this pandemic. M-Health (apps) could be a solution in this setting to evaluate a COVID-19 diagnosis. The aim of this study was to describe which COVID-19s apps are available in Spain.

Clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia diagnosed in a primary care practice in Madrid (Spain).

Background: Possible cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were diagnosed in primary care in Madrid, some of these cases had pneumonia. Most of the SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia published data came from hospitalised patients. This study set out to describe clinical characteristics of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia diagnosed in primary care across age groups and type of pneumonia.

Five-year trajectories of multimorbidity patterns in an elderly Mediterranean population using Hidden Markov Models.

This study aimed to analyse the trajectories and mortality of multimorbidity patterns in patients aged 65 to 99 years in Catalonia (Spain). Five year (2012-2016) data of 916,619 participants from a primary care, population-based electronic health record database (Information System for Research in Primary Care, SIDIAP) were included in this retrospective cohort study. Individual longitudinal trajectories were modelled with a Hidden Markov Model across multimorbidity patterns.

Medication-related problems in older people in Catalonia: A real-world data study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine medication-related problems (MRPs) in primary care patients over 65 years of age.

Methods: Cross-sectional study based on the electronic health records of patients (65-99 years of age) visited in 284 primary health care centers during 2012 in Catalonia.

Variables: age, sex, sociodemographic variables, number of drugs, kidney and liver function and MRPs (duplicate therapy, drug-drug interactions, potentially inappropriate medications [PIMs] and drugs contraindicated in chronic kidney disease and in liver diseases).

Using mobile applications and websites for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in Spain.

Introduction: New tools are needed for early evaluation of patients who could be infected by COVID-19 during this pandemic. M-Health (apps) could be a solution in this setting to evaluate a COVID-19 diagnosis. The aim of this study was to describe which COVID-19s apps are available in Spain.

Twelve-year clinical trajectories of multimorbidity in a population of older adults.

Multimorbidity-the co-occurrence of multiple diseases-is associated to poor prognosis, but the scarce knowledge of its development over time hampers the effectiveness of clinical interventions. Here we identify multimorbidity clusters, trace their evolution in older adults, and detect the clinical trajectories and mortality of single individuals as they move among clusters over 12 years. By means of a fuzzy c-means cluster algorithm, we group 2931 people ≥60 years in five clinically meaningful multimorbidity clusters (52%).

Multimorbidity patterns, polypharmacy and their association with liver and kidney abnormalities in people over 65 years of age: a longitudinal study.

Background: The implementation of individual clinical practice guidelines in patients with multimorbidity often results in polypharmacy. Our aim was to analyse medication use according to longitudinal multimorbidity patterns (MP) and determine during a 5-year period (2012-16) which MP are associated with abnormal liver and kidney function in primary care patients over 65 years of age living in Catalonia.

Methods: Design: Longitudinal study (years 2012 to 2016) based on the electronic health records contained in Information System for Research in Primary Care database of the Catalan Institute of Health (SIDIAP).

Soft clustering using real-world data for the identification of multimorbidity patterns in an elderly population: cross-sectional study in a Mediterranean population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify, with soft clustering methods, multimorbidity patterns in the electronic health records of a population ≥65 years, and to analyse such patterns in accordance with the different prevalence cut-off points applied. Fuzzy cluster analysis allows individuals to be linked simultaneously to multiple clusters and is more consistent with clinical experience than other approaches frequently found in the literature.

Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from electronic health records.

Medication patterns in older adults with multimorbidity: a cluster analysis of primary care patients.

Background: Older adults suffer from various chronic conditions which make them particularly vulnerable. The proper management of multiple drug use is therefore crucial. The aim of our study was to describe drug prescription and medication patterns in this population.

Patterns of Multimorbidity in a Population-Based Cohort of Older People: Sociodemographic, Lifestyle, Clinical, and Functional Differences.

Background: The aim of this study is to identify clusters of older persons based on their multimorbidity patterns and to analyze differences among clusters according to sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, and functional characteristics.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen on 2,931 participants aged 60 years and older who had at least two chronic diseases. Participants were clustered by the fuzzy c-means cluster algorithm.

Multimorbidity patterns with K-means nonhierarchical cluster analysis.

Background: The purpose of this study was to ascertain multimorbidity patterns using a non-hierarchical cluster analysis in adult primary patients with multimorbidity attended in primary care centers in Catalonia.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using electronic health records from 523,656 patients, aged 45-64 years in 274 primary health care teams in 2010 in Catalonia, Spain. Data were provided by the Information System for the Development of Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP), a population database.

Multimorbidity patterns in the elderly: a prospective cohort study with cluster analysis.

Background: Multimorbidity is the coexistence of more than two chronic diseases in the same individual; however, there is no consensus about the best definition. In addition, few studies have described the variability of multimorbidity patterns over time. The aim of this study was to identify multimorbidity patterns and their variability over a 6-year period in patients older than 65 years attended in primary health care.

Survival in relation to multimorbidity patterns in older adults in primary care in Barcelona, Spain (2010-2014): a longitudinal study based on electronic health records.

Background: Several studies have analysed the characteristics of multimorbidity patterns but none have evaluated the relationship with survival. The purpose of this study was to compare survival across older adults with different chronic multimorbidity patterns (CMPs).

Methods: Prospective longitudinal observational study using electronic health records for 190 108 people aged ≥65 years in Barcelona, Spain (2009-2014).

Pharmacological control of diabetes and hypertension comorbidity in the elderly: A study of "real world" data.

Aims: The study aimed to determine which drug combinations achieve better control in comorbid diabetes and hypertension in a pragmatic sample of primary health care patients.

Methods: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: 251 primary health care centres in Catalonia, Spain.