title: Prioritising the respiratory research needs of primary care: the  International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) e-Delphi  exercise.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Community-based care, underpinned by relevant primary care research, is an important component of the global fight  against non-communicable diseases. The International Primary Care Research Group's (IPCRG's) Research Needs Statement identified 145  research questions within five domains (asthma, rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), smoking, respiratory infections).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To use an e-mail Delphi process to prioritise the research questions.
  
  
  METHODS
  An international panel of primary care clinicians scored the clinical importance, feasibility, and international relevance of each  question on a scale of 1-5 (5 = most important). In subsequent rounds, informed by the Group's median scores, participants scored overall  priority. Consensus was defined as 80% agreement for priority scores 4 or 5.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three experts from 21 countries completed all three rounds. Sixty-two questions were prioritised across the five domains.  A recurring theme was for 'simple tools' (e.g. questionnaires) enabling diagnosis and assessment in community settings, often with limited  access to investigations. Seven questions recorded 100% agreement: these involved pragmatic approaches to the diagnosis of COPD and  rhinitis, assessment of asthma and respiratory infections, management of rhinitis, and implementing asthma self-management.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evidence to underpin the primary care approach to diagnosis and assessment and broad management strategies were  overarching priorities. If primary care is to contribute to the global challenge of managing respiratory non-communicable diseases,  policymakers, funders, and researchers need to prioritise these questions.
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Respiratory Research Group, Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. hilary.pinnock@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pinnock
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Østrem
authors.forename: Miguel Román
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Dermot
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ställberg
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Ioanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tsiligianni
authors.forename: Sian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yusuf
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma; D032921:Consensus; D003697:Delphi Technique; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000639:trends*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; D012106:Research; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections; D012220:Rhinitis; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder