Abstract

BackgroundThe ECRAN (European Communication on Research Awareness Needs) project was initiated in 2012, with support from the European Commission, to improve public knowledge about the importance of independent, multinational, clinical trials in Europe.MethodsParticipants in the ECRAN consortium included clinicians and methodologists directly involved in clinical trials; researchers working in partnership with the public and patients; representatives of patients; and experts in science communication. We searched for, and evaluated, relevant existing materials and developed additional materials and tools, making them freely available under a Creative Commons licence.ResultsThe principal communication materials developed were:A website (http://ecranproject.eu) in six languages, including a Media centre section to help journalists to disseminate information about the ECRAN projectAn animated film about clinical trials, dubbed in the 23 official languages of the European Community, and an interactive tutorialAn inventory of resources, available in 23 languages, searchable by topic, author, and media typeTwo educational games for young people, developed in six languagesTesting Treatments interactive in a dozen languages, including five official European Community languagesAn interactive tutorial slide presentation testing viewers’ knowledge about clinical trialsConclusionsOver a 2-year project, our multidisciplinary and multinational consortium was able to produce, and make freely available in many languages, new materials to promote public knowledge about the importance of independent and international clinical trials. Sustained funding for the ECRAN information platform could help to promote successful recruitment to independent clinical trials supported through the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network.

Highlights

  • The ECRAN (European Communication on Research Awareness Needs) project was initiated in 2012, with support from the European Commission, to improve public knowledge about the importance of independent, multinational, clinical trials in Europe

  • The quality of the existing disparate communication activities ranges from reliable information to deliberate misinformation, and efforts to engage the public in understanding health research at the European level are rare

  • Consortium A multidisciplinary consortium handled the project: clinicians and methodologists involved in clinical trials; researchers working in partnership with the public and patients; representatives of patients; and experts in science communication

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Summary

Introduction

The ECRAN (European Communication on Research Awareness Needs) project was initiated in 2012, with support from the European Commission, to improve public knowledge about the importance of independent, multinational, clinical trials in Europe. An interactive tutorial slide presentation testing viewers’ knowledge about clinical trials Conclusions: Over a 2-year project, our multidisciplinary and multinational consortium was able to produce, and make freely available in many languages, new materials to promote public knowledge about the importance of independent and international clinical trials. Randomised clinical trials and systematic reviews of such trials are recognised as essential for providing reliable evidence to inform medical practice, patients and the public more generally, still lack knowledge and awareness of the importance of these research methods [4,5,6,7]

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