International #ClinicalTrials Day | Panel Discussion: Patient and Public Involvement in Clinical Trials in India
Clinical trials are important tools to generate evidence about the safety and benefit of medical interventions- be it a drug, device, or vaccine. Although advancement in science is beginning to change the way we understand health care, it is still lagging in involving patients and the public in their own healthcare decisions including in the clinical trials.
Patients and the public continue to be regarded as a source of data and not as the true protagonists in the clinical trial process. Even though initiatives have been taken in recent years to change this situation, quite often the efforts have remained tokenistic- defeating the whole purpose of their meaningful involvement. The deep-seated power imbalance in society also impacts equitable patients and public involvement in clinical trials.
To mark the International Clinical Trials Day on 20th May 2022, The George Institute is organising a panel discussion to expand the awareness about the importance of patient and public involvement in clinical trials and include stakeholders’ perspectives in involving patients and the public throughout a clinical trial.
Objectives
- To increase awareness about the patient and public involvement (PPI) in clinical trials in India
- To provide a platform for all stakeholders involved in a clinical trial to share their roles and their perspectives on patient and public involvement throughout the clinical trial
- To discuss challenges, barriers, and opportunities, and find innovative solutions for PPI in research processes
Save the Date
Mark your calendars for 20th May 2022 | 11:00 AM IST
Country Specific Timings
| Country | Local time |
|---|---|
| India | 11:00 IST |
| Australia | 15:30 AEST |
| United Kingdom | 06:30 BST |
| United States of America | 01:30 EST |
| China | 13:30 CST |
Speakers
Dr Bharath Kumar - Intensivist Apollo Chennai & Honorary Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, India
Dr Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan is a Clinician Researcher based at the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, India. He has formal training in clinical trial methodology and leads and collaborates on several COVID and non-COVID trials. Bharath is also the National Coordinator for the Indian Registry of Intensive care and is pursuing a PhD with the University of Amsterdam focused on how critical care registries can help overcome barriers to conducting research in resource-limited settings.
Dr Anant Bhan - Independent Researcher, Bioethics and Global Health
Dr Anant Bhan is a trained medical doctor with a Master’s degree in bioethics from the University of Toronto. He is an Adjunct Visiting Professor, at Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), India. Anant is the Former President, of the International Association of Bioethics. His work is focused on ethics and equity in health, mental health, digital health, public health ethics, research ethics, community engagement, ethics of innovative technologies and ethics training for professionals. He also serves as the Bhopal hub lead for Sangath and is the site-PI for the various projects conducted at the hub.
Dr Aparna Mukherjee - Scientist (Medical), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Dr Aparna Mukherjee is working with the Trials & Projection Unit at the Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases Division, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi. She is leading the clinical trial network launched by ICMR – Indian Clinical Trial and Education Network (INTENT). She has been involved in multiple studies on COVID-19 including a randomized controlled trial on convalescent plasma (PLACID Trial) for COVID-19 and the ongoing National Clinical Registry of COVID-19. Aparna is a recipient of the prestigious Physician-Scientist Fellowship from Wellcome Trust/ India Alliance and has completed her MBBS and MD (Paediatrics) from Medical College, Kolkata and was awarded PhD (Paediatrics) by AIIMS, Delhi.
DVL Padma Priya - Editor-in-Chief, Suno India
DVL Padma Priya is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Suno India, an award winning podcast platform bringing quality audio journalism. She has hosted multiple podcasts on under-reported stories such as "Dear Pari" on adoption, "The Suno India Show" on current affairs and award winning show "Pinjra Tod Kar" on women empowerment to name a few. She is also the founder of India Covid Survivors Group, a peer support group dedicated for those who survived COVID as well as those facing long covid issues. As a long covid survivor herself, she has been a relentless patient advocate and continues to raise awareness about Long Covid.
As an independent journalist she has written for many leading media houses in India and has. She has also worked as an advocacy and communication specialist for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation Doctors Without Borders.
Moderator: Dr Niveditha Devasenapathy - Lead Better Treatments, The George Institute for Global health, India
Dr Niveditha Devasenapathy is trained in clinical research and applied statistics with over 15 years of experience in clinical and public health research. She is a recipient of the prestigious DBT/Wellcome Trust–India Alliance Intermediate Clinical and Public Health fellowship (2020) for the design and evaluation of a technology-based post knee arthroplasty rehabilitation monitoring strategy. She has been involved in the design and analysis of several multicentre randomised controlled trials in maternal health and cardiovascular disease. She is a completed her Master's in clinical trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and PhD from Deakin University, Australia. She currently leads the Better Treatment strategic priority area at The George Institute for Global Health.
