Surveillance of cerebral palsy in Europe : development of the JRC-SCPE central database and public health indicators

The Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe (SCPE) network was established in 1998, bringing together professionals and researchers working in population-based registries of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) across Europe. The aims of the network are to collect population data on CP to inform and improve understanding of the disease, to raise standards of care for children with CP, disseminate knowledge for patients, health care professionals and key stakeholders, and to provide a framework for collaborative research. In 2016, to provide sustainability for this very important network, the SCPE Central Registry and European level coordination activities were transferred to the JRC and became part of the European Platform for Rare Diseases Registration. The SCPE Central Database is annually updated with new cases submitted by the SCPE Registries. In line with the mission of the JRC for providing evidence-based policy support, and in order to extend the use of the SCPE Central database to public health relevant outputs, the JRC-SCPE Central Registry launched the initiative of developing public health indicators. The public health indicators have been developed by based on collaboration between the JRC and the University Hospital of Toulouse. The input for the calculations of these indicators is based on data included in the standard SCPE dataset and collected annually by the registries in the JRC-SCPE Central Database. The current report describes the development of the JRC-SCPE Central Database after the transfer from the University of Grenoble, and the definition of a first set of key health indicators.