Lab Activity 5 - Updating previous PSP priorities

The JLA is often asked how long JLA PSP priorities remain relevant and how and when they should be updated. 

The answer is likely to be specific to each PSP.  It may depend on the extent to which research has addressed the priorities since the PSP finished, or whether the health and care landscape has changed enough for patients, carers and clinicians to have new priorities. 

The JLA has yet to determine a single method for updating PSPs.  Any update exercise associated with the JLA needs to ensure JLA principles are maintained.

The Cystic Fibrosis PSP was the first PSP to test a method of refreshing the community’s priorities, almost five years after the original Top 10 was agreed.  There had been considerable change in Cystic Fibrosis treatments in that time, as well as a considerable amount of research done against the original priorities. 

One of the key principles of the JLA method is that patients, carers and clinicians are involved in the setting of priorities for research.  The Cystic Fibrosis Refresh methodology also included the scientific research community as we recognise the value of their expert contributions to the priority setting but also the importance of gaining their buy-in to the delivery of the identified research priorities for the CF community.  New priorities were published in 2022.

The Emergency Medicine Refresh also updated its original priorities which were published in January 2017.  New priorities were published in 2022.

Work is now being done to refresh the priorities in Palliative and End of Life Care (originally set in 2015), Stillbirth (originally set in 2015) and Type 1 Diabetes (originally set in 2011).