Building on the results from the literature review and the survey conducted in May-June 2024, the next step is to run focus groups in selected regions to collect insights from stakeholders involved in cardiovascular (CV) care delivery. These stakeholders include general practitioners, acute care/cardiac care unit physicians, cardiologists, nurses and allied professionals, patients, hospital managers and policy-makers or advisory organisations.
The focus groups aim to discuss the survey’s findings and learn from these to create a resilience toolkit for European CV care pathways that can enhance preparedness for future disruptions and crisis.
Based on the geographical distribution of survey responses, five online focus groups will be conducted in October and November 2024. These sessions will be moderated by Consortium members in the respective countries, along with research members from the Amsterdam University Medical Centre:
- Regional focus groups: Campagnia, Italy; Lombardia, Italy;
- National focus groups: Spain; The Netherlands;
- International focus group: Other EU countries.
The focus group discussions will cover the six resilience dimensions explored in the survey: 1) Workforce; 2) Care delivery; 3) Governance and trust; 4) Communication and cooperation; 5) Medicals devices and products; 6) Data collection and use. The insights gained from these discussions will be instrumental in shaping the first version of the resilience toolkit, which is scheduled for completion by the end of January 2025.
