Research Australia is a national alliance representing the entire health and medical research pipeline from the laboratory through to the patient. It is a unifying platform for the sector’s collective voice to ensure health and medical research maintains a national priority.
In the September issue of their publication, INSPIRE researchers nationwide shared examples of how involving consumers enriches research. Significant responses received on the topic mean that the next issue, due later this month, will deliver Part II of the special feature.
Nadia Levin, CEO of Research Australia said the 21st issue of INSPIRE brings together real-life examples of how involving consumers makes for better research. “The myriad benefits include greater accountability, improved quality and outcomes, decreased costs, more effective research translation and improved public confidence in research.
“Increasingly, research funding bodies are demanding a demonstration of consumer involvement as a condition of funding.”
The stories in the current - and next - issue of INSPIRE provide insights to consumer involvement across a diversity of areas, including advisory panels, sitting on strategic review panels, guiding research priorities, clinical trial design and more. Two projects from the VCCC Alliance are featured in INSPIRE as examples of consumer partnership and consumer-led initiative.
PRIMCAT is a large consumer-informed multi-institutional MRFF funded research program led by Professor Maarten IJzerman, VCCC Alliance Academic Lead, Health Services Research Lead, University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research.
The study is taking a data-driven modelling approach to provide 5-year epidemiological estimates of eligible patient populations and quantify the population health economic impact of new cancer treatments for three nominated priority cancers (colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma) and two pan-tumour biomarkers.
The ProstatE CancEr Prognosis and Treatment (PRECEPT) project involves genomics, immunotherapy, and health services research to establish genomic biomarker-based tests for shared decision-making in treatment.
Collaborators, with consumers as part of the research team, have set out to develop a tissue and blood test that will predict the future risk of progression in men with prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis; new curative treatments in patients with high-risk disease; and new tests that will predict how patients will respond to treatment.
The VCCC Alliance will host its third annual consumer engagement forum on Friday 3 December. The popular meeting will once again bring together consumers, researchers and those who work with them to share effective strategies and practical examples of consumer involvement, to progress improvements in patient outcomes.
Research Australia showcases Health & Medical Research – Read INSPIRE
Image: Participants at previous VCCC Alliance consumer engagement forum
