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Home » People and partners » Working groups

Working Groups

Our working groups are made up of people who have an interest or experience in a topic related to lung health. These groups are designed to support ELF strategic areas and priority topics.

Members share their expertise and get involved in projects to help improve treatment and healthcare, as well as advocacy activities to promote policy-change.

Content Table

Content Table

Who can join a working group?

All working groups are open to new members from European countries. We would like to hear from you if you:

  • Are over 18 and have lived experience or professional knowledge and expertise in one of the topics listed below.
  • Are resident in a European country.
  • Can communicate in English (spoken and written)
  • Are interested in improving healthcare and treatment across Europe.
  • Have access to a computer and the internet.

Meet our working groups

Speak to us about joining a working group

If you are interested in joining one of our working groups or would like further information, please get in touch with our team at info@europeanlung.org.

Youth group

The ELF Youth Group is for people who are 16-24 years old with a lung condition and passion for lung health. The purpose of the group is to identify and advocate for the needs of young people with lung conditions.

We believe that young people have a lot to give to the lung patient community, to healthcare professionals and to projects that focus on lung health. Learn more on our Youth Group page.

Transplantation

This group was formed in line with the ELF Strategy to prioritise the topic of lung transplantation. The initial scope of work was the production of materials on transplantation on the ELF website. This included written content and also a video sharing personal experiences of transplantation.  

As the Chair’s Campaign also has a focus on lung transplantation, the group may be called upon over the campaign lifespan 2023-2026, to provide ad hoc advise on the topic and input from the patient and professional perspective.

Digital health

The Digital Health Working Group has been working on a combined project between the CONNECT Clinical Research Collaboration and the DRAGON EU project. They have been looking at how digital health can affect the relationship between patient and clinician in both positive and negative ways. The group’s views and experiences have been taken forward into a publication exploring the topic from both patient and clinician viewpoints.

Mental health
The Mental Health Working Group was formed in 2024 to increase the visibility of mental health and how it impacts on people with chronic lung conditions and their caregivers. The group aims to evaluate and build on research in this area, define the key priorities from individuals, patient organisations and healthcare professionals and to provide information, education and to drive forward policy change in this area. Members are working with healthcare professionals from ERS Assembly 9 (Allied healthcare professionals) and its Psychologists and Behavioural Scientists’ Group to formulate a strategy and plan of action.
Climate change and air pollution

The Climate Change and Air Pollution Working Group was established in 2023 to help develop the Breathe Clean Air Patient Conference in December 2023 which is now an annual event. It now provides a source of patient perspectives and lived experience which is crucial to some of our advocacy work, as well as being an active and passionate group on raising awareness on these key issues.

European Patient Ambassador Programme (EPAP)

Patients looking to get involved in our working groups are encouraged to sign up to the European Patient Ambassador Programme, our free, self-learning platform that will help you to get started in patient involvement and advocacy. Made up of 8 modules, you will learn how to represent yourself and others living with chronic conditions with the option to work through the modules at your own pace and save your progress as you go along.

Our EPAP modules are now available in English, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Ukrainian.

Learn more

What is expected of me as a working group member?

The aim of our working groups is to promote lung health. There are a number of activities and opportunities linked to our working groups, from designing new resources, to speaking at our patient conferences.

As a member of a working group, you will be asked to share your views and expertise on the topic area. This might include how a cross-disease issue impacts your daily life or your thoughts and experience as a healthcare professional or researcher. You also have the chance to highlight any information gaps or priorities that you think are important to patients and the public.

Our groups meet by video call (Zoom or Microsoft Teams) and communicate by email. Representatives from the group may also be invited to face-to-face meetings in Europe. If your health needs would make it difficult for you to attend a face-to-face meeting, we will support you to attend remotely.

Members must agree to keep information about the content and development of projects they are involved with confidential until the outcomes are formally published.

If you are interested in joining a working group or would like further information, please get in touch.

Contact us

ELF is a non-profit organisation registered as a UK company (VAT no. GB 115 0027 74) and charity (no. 1118930).
Our Brussels office enterprise number is 0738.383.695
European Lung Foundation's TR ID number in the Transparency Register is: 094039644810-79