What can research on telemedicine in Brazil teach Denmark? The Danida-supported project “Optimizing Brazil Health Care with Telemedicine”, BRAHIT offers one example of how international research partnerships can turn local challenges into knowledge and learning with relevance far beyond their original context.
From 2019 to 2024, BRAHIT investigated how telemedicine can be used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in Brazil. The project brought together researchers and health professionals from across countries and sectors and their work generated experiences and tools that have also found their way into the Danish health sector.
Educational videos
One example is the educational video material that was developed by the project in collaboration with the Danish company Visikon. The videos, originally designed to help health professionals in Brazil communicate complex medical information to patients, were translated into Danish and are now used by nurses and other health professionals in parts of the Danish healthcare system.
The project also contributed to the development of the “cardio-share” (cardio stafet) concept, that supports collaboration between general practitioners and cardiovascular specialists in Denmark. BRAHIT was developed alongside the Danish REAFEL research project, supported by Innovation Fund Denmark. REAFEL focused on people at risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition that can lead to stroke. Although the two projects worked with different populations and in different countries, they addressed some of the same challenges of social inequality and gaps between sectors and levels of healthcare. On this background, knowledge from one project could feed into the other.
Learning across healthcare system
For Helena Dominguez, principal investigator of BRAHIT, these experiences point to a broader lesson. “Research conducted in one healthcare system can generate ideas and approaches that are relevant elsewhere, provided they are adapted to the local context”, she says.
She points in particular to the benefits of working with highly skilled colleagues in Brazil, and the continued potential of home-monitoring systems in cardiovascular care in Denmark, combined with accessible digital tools that can help patients understand their condition and treatment.
BRAHIT illustrates that international research collaboration often brings about invaluable benefits for all the involved parties and that experiences from a different healthcare system can challenge established approaches, provide new knowledge and learning and contribute to the continuous development of healthcare at home.
