6 February, 2026
The European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) Respiratory Impact Conference is putting the spotlight on turning evidence and policy into action, seeking out best practices to aid real-world implementation.
Here, the event Co-Chair Prof. Hilary Pinnock (ERS Education Council Chair), discusses why this new conference will be of real value – offering something different to the ERS community and wider.
Why is the Respiratory Impact Conference a valuable addition to ERS events in 2026?
The ERS Respiratory Impact Conference is a valuable addition to the ERS calendar because it will focus on how we can improve translation of policy to practice and guidelines to routine care. This will be underpinned by the insights of implementation science, the toolkit of healthcare research, and shared learnings with colleagues seeking to improve quality of care.
This topic is timely because 2025 saw several high-level policy initiatives that prioritise the care of people with respiratory conditions (the World Health Assembly resolution “Promoting and prioritising an integrated lung health approach” in May, and the UN resolution for “Prevention and control of Noncommunicable Diseases” in December, for example). ERS members and respiratory-focused professionals globally, have a responsibility to advocate for and support translation of these policy resolutions to ensure they benefit patients.
Similarly, clinical practice guidelines summarise the ‘bench to bedside’ translation of innovative treatments and management approaches. Healthcare professionals need to implement these recommendations in routine care to benefit individuals with lung conditions.
What can people expect to get from this conference?
Overall, anyone joining us should expect to take away innovative ideas, new skills for health service research, an extended network of like-minded colleagues, and renewed enthusiasm for implementing change. Some specific things attendees can expect and benefit from are:
- Multidisciplinary collaboration. An opportunity to network with others working to implement evidence-based practice, improve the quality of routine respiratory care, and influence service development.
- A practical focus on the skills needed. Sessions will focus on: stakeholder engagement and messaging for different audiences; building equity into initiatives; health economics; AI and digital integration of care; behaviour change; and adapting complex interventions for low resource settings.
- Shared experiences and best practices. There will be posters and lightning abstract presentations (plus a poster competition for early-career members). With a maximum number of 100 onsite attendees, the practical topics delivered in workshops and panel discussions are designed to support interaction and encourage sharing of practice.
Who will benefit most from this conference?
To turn policy to action/guidelines to routine care, there must be multidisciplinary collaboration, cutting across clinical care, education, science and advocacy. This conference will benefit healthcare professionals, managers, researchers, and policymakers seeking to change practice. It will also appeal to behavioural scientists, implementation scientists, public health representatives, epidemiologists, and health economists with expertise to support and evaluate change.
At the end of the day, the people who will benefit most will be individuals living with respiratory diseases and the respiratory health of populations.
Join us or submit your abstract
The Respiratory Impact Conference takes place on 25–26 June, 2026 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Registration is open now and an early-bird discount is available until 21 April.
The call for abstracts is open until 5 March and welcomes submissions from researchers, clinicians and practitioners related to any aspect of health service delivery, applied and implementation science, and quality improvement initiatives.