1. Annual Report 2025
  2. Research
  3. ECONSAP

ECONSAP

Research Group on Health Economics in Primary Care

Ours is a multidisciplinary group made up of 20 researchers from various fields and disciplines. The group originated in 1999 with the DAPGA study that was carried out at the Gavà Mental Health Center and the ABS Bartomeu Fabrés Anglada de Gavà. As a result of that first collaboration, others emerged that focused mainly on the evaluation of interventions aimed at the management of mental illnesses in PA, always with the economic evaluation component of these interventions.

During the last years, the focus of research has increasingly specialized in the economic evaluation of health in PA, including the evaluation of the economic impact of diseases (e.g. Costdep), the cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions (e.g. Predictd-Ccrt (4R09/043), Predict-Work (4R18/092) Predictplusprevent (4R18/179), pharmacological (Infap (4R11/055) and non-pharmacological (Eudaimon (4R15/051), the cost of non-adherence both in the adult population (NON-INITIATORS (4R14/073) and in the pediatric population (Pediatric Non-Initiators (4R18/180), etc. In addition, although the study of mental illness is still one of the main focuses of the group, research has expanded to other pathologies, such as chronic pain management and fibromyalgia (e.g. Fibromyalgia Subtype (4R12/066), Eudaimon (4R15/051), Ultreya (4R19/003) and IMPACT (FIS PI19/00112)), multi-risk prevention (Econ-EIRA3 (4R15/044) or the design of interventions to improve the initiation of cardiovascular treatments and diabetes (NON-Initiators Phase 1 (4R18/007), Non-initiators Cardiovascular (4R18/172), Non-Initiators Phase 2).

The group complements the use of clinical trials and economic evaluations with other study designs that allow it to better understand the difficulties of managing pathologies in primary care and the efficiency of treatments, such as qualitative research (e.g. Qualifar (4R10/003); Predict-Eval (4R12/046); Non-Initiators Phase 1 (4R18/007), Mental Health Diagnosis of some Catalan counties and cities (4R17/125) systematic reviews (e.g. EIRA2 (4R12/048), and epidemiological studies based on the secondary exploitation of large databases, such as SIDIAP (e.g. Vortioxetine Pass (4R18/004), all within the framework of research in the field of primary care, but with usual collaborations with the hospital.

Some of the group's researchers are part of redIAPP, others are associate university professors at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the University of Barcelona or the Open University of Catalonia. And one of the researchers is a member of the European Depression Association and the Mental Health Group of the Wonca Working Party on Mental Health.

Group projects

  • The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions on chronification of benzodiazepine use. Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en RED (Ciber); Fundació per a la recerca i la Docència Sant Joan de Déu. 2022-2025. IP: Ignacio Aznar Lou.

  • Social Prescribing to promote and improve access to health and care services for people invulnerable situations in Europe - SP-EU. (101155873). Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin; European Commission. 2025-2029. IP: Juan Manuel Mendive Arbeloa.

  • Social Prescribing And Civic Engagement - Space. (101183770). Centre Europeen du Volontariat; European Commission. 2024-2027. IP: Juan Manuel Mendive Arbeloa.

  • Motivaciones en la cronificación del Uso de Benzodiacepinas: Un estudio cualitativo. 2023-2025. IP: Mª Teresa Peñarrubia María.

  • Developing, implementing and evaluating a clinical care pathway for NASH primary care patients: a multi-centre study. Gilead Sciences, S.L. 2020-2025. IP: Juan Manuel Mendive Arbeloa.

Group publications

  • Serra J, Alcalá González LG, Mendive JM, Santander Vaquero C, Serrano Falcón B. Updated document on the management of functional dyspepsia by the Asociación Española de Neurogastroenterologia y Motilidad (ASENEM) and Sociedad Española de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria (semFYC). Rev. Esp. Enferm. Dig. 2025;117(2):84-91. PMID:39812003.

  • Guardiola Arévalo A, Roca JM, Alvarez MN, Muñoz RC, Arbeloa JMM, Romero JA. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth: Myths and realities. Aten. Prim. 2025;57(4):103201-103201. PMID:39799751.

  • Kahrilas PJ, Keefer L, Yadlapati R, Anastasiou F, Heidelbaugh JJ, Howden CW et al. Review Article: Individualised Management of Reflux-Like Symptoms-Strategies Beyond Acid Suppression. Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 2025;61(9):1437-1446. PMID:40166851.

  • Rubio Valera M, Carbonell Duacastella C, Peñarrubia María M, Pacheco E, Gabriela Ricciardeli P, Aznar Lou I et al. Insights on pediatric medication initiation: perceptions of caregivers and children. Front. Pharmacol. 2025;161612169-1612169. PMID:40548053.

  • Corral Partearroyo C, Sánchez Viñas A, Peñarrubia María MT, Gil Girbau M, Aznar Lou I, Palma Vasquez C et al. Implementation of a patient-centred complex intervention to improve Initial Medication Adherence to cardiovascular disease and diabetes treatments in primary care (the IMA-cRCT study): a mixed-methods process evaluation. BMJ Qual. Saf. 2025;PMID:40484629.

  • Condominas E, Sanchez Niubo A, Domenech Abella J, Haro JM, Bailon R, Giné Vázquez I et al. Exploring the dynamic relationships between nocturnal heart rate, sleep disruptions, anxiety levels, and depression severity over time in recurrent major depressive disorder. J. Affect. Disord. 2025;376139-148. PMID:39922289.

  • Malagelada C, Keller J, Sifrim D, Serra J, Tack J, Mulak A et al. European Guideline on Chronic Nausea and Vomiting-A UEG and ESNM Consensus for Clinical Management. United European Gastroenterol. J. 2025;13(3):427-471. PMID:39754724.

  • Lenti MV, Hammer HF, Tacheci I, Burgos R, Schneider S, Foteini A et al. European Consensus on Malabsorption-UEG & SIGE, LGA, SPG, SRGH, CGS, ESPCG, EAGEN, ESPEN, and ESPGHAN. Part 1: Definitions, Clinical Phenotypes, and Diagnostic Testing for Malabsorption. United European Gastroenterol. J. 2025;13(4):599-613. PMID:40129317.

  • Lenti MV, Hammer HF, Tacheci I, Burgos R, Schneider S, Foteini A et al. European Consensus on Malabsorption-UEG & SIGE, LGA, SPG, SRGH, CGS, ESPCG, EAGEN, ESPEN, and ESPGHAN. United European Gastroenterol. J. 2025;13(5):773-797. PMID:40088199.

  • Corral Partearroyo C, Sánchez Viñas A, Aznar Lou I, Peñarrubia María MT, Gil Girbau M, Gallardo González C et al. Effectiveness of a patient-centred complex intervention to improve Initial Medication Adherence to cardiovascular disease and diabetes treatments in primary care (the IMA-cRCT study): a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial using real-world data. BMJ Qual. Saf. 2025; PMID:40592577.

  • Agüera Ortiz L, Aragonés E, Buch Vicente B, Mendive JM, Peña M, Vieta E. Cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia: an analysis of awareness, assessment, and management practices among psychiatrists and primary care physicians. Front. Psychiatry. 2025;161567410-1567410. PMID:40405881.

  • Peñarrubia María MT, Parker LA, Puig García M, Fuente Moreno M, Lumbreras B, Lopez Pintor E et al. Challenge of long-term benzodiazepine use in primary care: insights from a real-world cohort study in Catalonia. Fam. Med. Community Health. 2025;13(3): PMID:40744657.

  • Petrazzuoli F, Alabal JV, Kenkre J, Kloppe T, Evers S, Napierala H et al. Best practice approaches to social prescribing in European Primary Care: A Delphi protocol focused on link workers. Adv. Clin. Exp. Med. 2025;34(9):1589-1595. PMID:40748770.

PROCEEDING PAPERS

  • Peñarrubia María M, Olmos Palenzuela MC, Parker L, Aznar Lou I, Rubio Valera M, Gil Girbau M. Reasons Leading to Chronic Benzodiazepine use: a Qualitative Perspective. Gac. Sanit. 2025;39.

  • Corral Partearroyo C, Sánchez Viñas A, Peñarrubia María MT, Gil Girbau M, Aznar Lou I, Gallardo González C et al. Implementation of an Intervention to Improve Initial Medication adherence in Primary Care: Process Evaluation with Mixed Methods (Ima-Crct). Gac. Sanit. 2025;39.

  • Rubio Valera M, Corral Partearroyo C, Olivella A, Aznar Lou I, Giménez García E, Ortega A et al. Feature of a Cost-Effectiveness Study of Telephone Monitoring in Heart Failure Using Artificial Intelligence with Natural Language Processing: Pilot Study. Gac. Sanit. 2025;39.

  • Corral Partearroyo C, Sánchez Viñas A, Peñarrubia María MT, Gil Girbau M, Aznar Lou I, Gallardo González C et al. Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of a Shared Decision-Making Intervention in Primary Care: a Real-Life Data-Based Clinical Trial Ima-Crct. Gac. Sanit. 2025;39.

  • Aznar Lou I, Corral Partearroyo C, Sánchez Viñas A, Peñarrubia María MT, Gil Girbau M, Gallardo González C et al. Cost Analysis for Implementing an Intervention to Improve Initial Medication Adherence in Primary Care (Ima-Crct). Gac. Sanit. 2025;39.

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