Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (Oct 2022)

The Emergency Medicine Education and Research by Global Experts (EMERGE) Network: Challenges and Lessons Learned

  • Prashant Mahajan,
  • Shu-Ling Chong,
  • EMERGE Network,
  • Vijaya Arun Kumar,
  • Prerna Batra,
  • Apoorva Belle,
  • Ben Bloom,
  • Chung-Hsien Chaou,
  • Ulf Ekelund,
  • Sagar Galwankar,
  • Johanna Kaartinen,
  • Vimal Krishnan,
  • Qingbian Ma,
  • Paul M. Middleton,
  • Anna Miethke Morais,
  • Chip Jin Ng,
  • Daniel Osei-Kwame,
  • Dominik Roth,
  • Rasha Sawaya,
  • Sanjeev Singh,
  • Tej Prakash Sinha,
  • Mabel Vasnaik,
  • Katie Walker,
  • Adriana Yock

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2022.7.56398
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 6

Abstract

Read online

Introduction: The Emergency Medicine Education and Research by Global Experts (EMERGE) network was formed to generate and translate evidence to improve global emergency care. We share the challenges faced and lessons learned in establishing a global research network. Methods: We describe the challenges encountered when EMERGE proposed the development of a global emergency department (ED) visit registry. The proposed registry was to be a six-month, retrospective, deidentified, minimal dataset of routinely collected variables, such as patient demographics, diagnosis, and disposition. Results: Obtaining reliable, accurate, and pertinent data from participating EDs is challenging in a global context. Barriers experienced ranged from variable taxonomies, need for language translation, varying site processes for curation and transfer of deidentified data, navigating institution- and country-specific data protection regulations, and substantial variation in each participating institution’s research infrastructure including training in research-related activities. We have overcome many of these challenges by creating detailed data-sharing agreements with bilateral regulatory oversight agreements between EMERGE and participating EDs, developing relationships with and training health informaticians at each site to ensure secure transfer of deidentified data, and formalizing an electronic transfer process ensuring data privacy. Conclusion: We believe that networks like EMERGE are integral to providing the necessary platforms for education, training, and research collaborations for emergency care. We identified substantial challenges in data sharing and variation in local sites’ research infrastructure and propose potential approaches to address these challenges.