Introducing the online professional community for Clinical Research

1. Introducing the online professional community for Clinical Research

2. Who we are…. Global Health Trials is a free and open access collaborative programme to support clinical trials in developing countries. The Aim…. To establish a mechanism for everyone working on clinical trials to have access to guidance, tools, resources, training – and each other What we have achieved… The site was released in May 2010. There are currently 14,000 users from 56 developing countries using this platform. Over 20% of these have visited the site over 50 times

3. Why is this needed and how does it work? • There are initiatives providing clinical trial training BUT the majority focus on one protocol or disease and does not involve all the staff. This is not leaving research sites with the skills and confidence to run their own studies • Few trial steps, processes, methods or issues are truly specific to one disease and most things we do in clinical research are the same and so more generic and practical skills training for ALL trial staff is needed. • There is a need for more disease management trials addresses local questions as well as product development trials to support new product registration. Sites COULD and SHOULD diversify into more and different trials • Global Health Trials works by knowledge and methods sharing a across disease areas, staff roles and geographic regions

5. Features of Global Health Trials • Guidance articles, tools and resources • E-learning • Professional membership scheme • Member Profile and Connect Together system • Discussion forums and blogs • Bookmarks, events and opportunities • Regional faculties Why we think it is working • All regions, all staff roles – ALL DISEASE AREAS • Clear, clean and professional-looking space designed around the concept of encouraging a community • Neutral, democratic – not belonging or located in any one institution; modeled on the Cochrane Group

6. Guidance articles are a core element. These provide explanatory notes alongside all the necessary tools such as templates and examples

7. This article was written by a collaborating group who developed this tool

8. Discussion groups are very popular and help research group find help and support

9. The Global Health Trials Professional Membership Scheme • We need to better support, develop and retain our trial staff • This scheme increases professional recognition and tracks development • It is free, comprehensive, validated and high quality • Overseen by an expert review panel & funded by WHO-TDR • Good for sites – provides a mechanism for staff review • Good for individuals – provides own record and highly motivational

10. The Global Health Trials e-learning Centre • There is some fantastic training being delivered face to face • The trouble is they often focus one disease (or protocol!) • Often only small number of staff can gain – limited by travel • However most steps, processes and issues are the same Our philosophy is quite simple…. - Take these great training resources you have all developed and share them by creating e-learning courses!

12. To summarise • We could all help each other by sharing our successes • Solutions to most trial challenges can be applied globally • We need to increase access to training and knowledge • We need to be better at supporting ALL our trial staff We have taken the latest digital technology to tackle these through an open collaborative professional community. Please register – please get involved! www.globalhealthtrials.org