IMPROVing lifElong health and development for children and adults born very PRETERM – observational studies to enhance randomised trials for comparative effectiveness research

Each year, over 50 000 infants are born very preterm (before 32 weeks of gestation) in Europe and face lifelong challenges such as cognitive impairment, respiratory illnesses, and psychiatric disorders. Despite increases in survival rates, long-term health outcomes have not improved. The need for evidence-based, cost-effective, and accessible treatments is urgent, but research is hindered by ethical and logistic barriers. ?he EU-funded IMPROVE PRETERM project brings together diverse multidisciplinary teams from 13 countries to evaluate interventions like corticosteroid treatments, follow-up programmes, and vaccine strategies. Outputs include tools for assessing children’s development and a sustainable data platform designed to optimise the use of population data for research in healthcare, social, and educational policy that will enhance health and well-being for very preterm individuals and their families.