Interested in research with the DESAM-ForNet initiative?

Basic information

In the general practices in Germany, far more patients are cared for and medicines are prescribed than in any other area of the health service. This is where the basic care of people of all ages with physical and mental health disorders is provided in emergency, acute and long-term care. The proportion of patients who are chronically ill or affected by several illnesses is increasing. There is a lack of scientifically sound answers. Thus, general practitioners and patients need research that helps them to answer these relevant questions and researchers need an infrastructure that enables research in GP practices.

The DESAM-ForNet initiative – the general practices in the spotlight

The initiative of German Research Practice Networks – the DESAM-ForNet initiative provides this infrastructure for high-quality research that follows the principle “from practical experience to practical application”. The GP practices with their perspectives and their interests in the care of their patients are essential. The research topic should be developed from a topic that is relevant in daily practice to improve everyday care. Furthermore, adequate financial compensation for the research practices should be ensured. This is the only way to ensure that GPs and their practice teams are convinced and actively take on the usually lengthy and labor-intensive process of participating in a research project in addition to their demanding everyday care.

Cooperation with the DESAM-ForNet

Because we design the projects in the interest of our research practices, the initiative makes it a condition for external partners that research projects are already developed in the conception phase in cooperation with at least one general medical university department within a research practice network. Within this cooperation, the target parameters are defined and the study design and statistical analysis plan are drawn up. Responsibilities and rights (objectives of the project, which person takes on which role, how changes are made in the research design, criteria/requirements of authorship, rights of use) are also clearly defined. Before the project begins, a detailed financial plan with a comprehensible price-performance ratio must be made transparent. Data protection and security concepts of the project provide the framework for action. As a rule, the research data are fully accessible to all authorized staff at all times. Before the start of a project, agreements on the form of the report of the results have to be made.

Establishing general medicine university locations

The first step is to establish cooperation with at least one of the general medicine university departments within the DESAM-ForNet initiative. For the conception and implementation of the research project in the general medicine university, corresponding financial resources must be planned.

For this purpose, the university representatives need a quick overview of whether the company and research field is interesting from a general medical perspective and if it is suitable for the research practices of the respective university location.

This quick overview is provided by our BLACKBOARD.

To be listed there, it is assumed that you accept the criteria for the cooperation of the DESAM-ForNet initiative (see above).

Your advantages:

Listing your company/research field for 12 months on the BLACKBOARD.
The network coordinators of the DESAM-ForNet initiative will be informed separately about your listing on the BLACKBOARD.
Via our newsletter, we inform all institutes of general medicine in Germany about our BLACKBOARD with your entry. Interested locations can then contact you directly.
In addition, your entry on the BLACKBOARD allows you twice a year to present your company and your project plans to interested university locations in a digital pitch event and to get connected with university staff.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact koordinierung@desam-fornet.de.

Here you will find the FORM for listing on the BLACKBOARD:

Form for listing on the notice board

Title or working title of the research project (max. 500 characters).

If available: Name of Principal Investigator

If available: Names of Co-Investigators

Name of the contact person

E-mail address of the contact person

Brief description of the existing research structures/teams and previous research experience of the submitter or participants (max. 1000 characters)

Type of funding (max. 500 characters)

Information on the time schedule (max. 500 characters)

Research question and objectives with the description of relevance for the GP sector (max. 1000 characters)

Planned methodology (if available, incl. the planned number of GP practices/number of patients) (max. 1000 characters)

Main challenges and possible solutions (max. 500 characters)

What do you expect from cooperation with the DESAM-ForNet initiative? (max. 500 characters)

Are there already points of contact with the topic of application for ethical approval? (max. 500 characters)

Conditions of participation Conditions of participation I have understood the conditions and agree on how the research projects with external partners are carried out by the DESAM-ForNet initiative.

Note on data protection Note on data protection I agree that my data may be stored for the purpose of processing my request.

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