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The Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN): A decade of global research cooperation in paediatric emergency care
Terry P Klassen1,2,3, Stuart R Dalziel4,5,6, Franz E Babl7,8
1Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Insights
The Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN) enhances global collaboration in pediatric emergency care research. It has grown significantly, enabling complex studies and improving treatment for acutely ill children worldwide.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Global Health Research Networks
- Clinical Pediatrics
Background:
- The Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN) was established in 2009 to foster international collaboration among pediatric emergency care research networks.
- PERN has expanded to include eight member networks, operating collaboratively rather than hierarchically.
- Its impact is evidenced by the field's growth, increasingly complex research, and enhanced capacity for knowledge generation in pediatric emergency care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To facilitate and support global collaborative research in pediatric emergency care.
- To measure the indirect impact of international research facilitation on the field and clinical practice.
- To outline future goals for advancing pediatric emergency care globally.
Main Methods:
- PERN operates through an executive committee with representatives from all member networks.
- Impact is assessed indirectly through field growth, research question complexity, and knowledge implementation capacity.
- Network infrastructure enables rapid response to public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main Results:
- PERN has grown from five to eight member networks since its inception.
- The network has evolved from pandemic response studies (H1N1) to include observational studies and global randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- PERN successfully initiated a prospective observational study for the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its rapid response capability.
Conclusions:
- PERN aims to implement scientific advances into clinical practice by expanding RCT capacity and focusing on implementation science.
- Future goals include addressing healthcare disparities and extending reach into resource-limited regions.
- The ultimate objective is to improve care for acutely ill and injured children globally.
Objectives:
The Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN) was launched in 2009 with the intent for existing national and regional research networks in paediatric emergency care to organise globally for the conduct of collaborative research across networks.
Methods:
PERN has grown from five to eight member networks over the past decade. With an executive committee comprising representatives from all member networks, PERN plays a supportive and collaborative rather than governing role. The full impact of PERN's facilitation of international collaborative research, although somewhat difficult to quantify empirically, can be measured indirectly by the observed growth of the field, the nature of the increasingly challenging research questions now being addressed and the collective capacity to generate and implement new knowledge in treating acutely ill and injured children.
Results:
Beginning as a pandemic response studying H1N1 influenza risk factors in children, PERN research has progressed to multiple observational studies and ongoing global randomised controlled trials (RCTs). As a recent example, PERN has developed sufficient network infrastructure to enable the rapid initiation of a prospective observational study in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusions:
Following its success with developing global research, the PERN goal now is to promote the implementation of scientific advances into everyday clinical practice by: (i) expanding the capacity for global RCTs; (ii) deepening the focus on implementation science; (iii) increasing attention to healthcare disparities; and (iv) expanding PERN's reach into resource-restricted regions. Through these actions, PERN aims to meet the needs of acutely ill and injured children throughout the world.
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