Table 2.

Advantages and barriers of integrating data on mental health comorbidities into existing or new TB databases/registries.

Advantages	Barriers
Improved Patient Care: Enhanced monitoring and follow-up for TB patients with mental health comorbidities.	Supranational Coverage: Ideally, the database should operate at an EU level for complete data collection.
Valuable Data: Collection of reliable data on the prevalence and incidence of TB with accompanying mental health disorders.	Public Accessibility: The database should be generally accessible to support research and interventions, with some controlled access.
Research Enablement: Facilitation of studies exploring the interplay between TB and mental health conditions.	Ethical Issues: Must address stigma and ensure informed consent for health data use.
Data Homogenisation: Standardisation of data across regions to ensure quality and consistency.	Data Protection: Need strict compliance with GDPR and other relevant laws.
Policy Development: Support for targeted interventions and public health strategies based on robust evidence.	Technical Challenges: Include building data infrastructure, selecting CRFs, using open-source tools like REDCap, and securing funding.
	Promotion: Expansion requires support from public entities, government bodies, WHO, scientific societies, and consortia like ADVANCE-TB or TBnet.
	Physician Participation: Strategies are needed to motivate physicians’ involvement.
	Financial Considerations: Evaluate cost-effectiveness, especially given Europe’s relatively low TB incidence.

ADVANCE-TB: research network, funded by the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) (CA21164); CRF = Case Report Form; GDPR = General Data Protection Regulation from the European Union; TBnet = European grass-root consortium, https://www.tbnet.eu/.