The inaugural session, hosted by the Rotary Club of Ballarat South, was aimed at providing local community members with valuable information to debunk common myths and boost their understanding of clinical trials. It was hosted by Lisa Bell, Clinical Trial Coordinator and former SKILLED intern, and Dr Wasek Faisal, Medical Oncologist at Grampians Health.

The session used educational resources and a framework developed by the VCCC Alliance and co designed with VCCC Alliance consumers. The design, format and layout of the session’s framework have been driven by consumers with input from health professionals across Victoria.

The night was well attended, with presentations, a Q&A and a meal for attendees to connect with others in the room. Questions covered topics like how doctor referrals work, pharmaceutical involvement, how long patients can stay in clinical trials, what happens to results, and more.

Lisa Bell said the VCCC Alliance’s customisable resources were crucial to the event’s success.

“The ability for individual health services to adapt and customise the educational resources provided by the VCCC Alliance was really significant," she said.

“That flexibility allowed us to craft a highly relevant session for our local community, and I can see real benefit for regional sites wanting to run their own clinical trial awareness sessions.”

The session framework has been designed so organisations can run events in a format that suits them – either in-person, online or a combination of both – while attendees walk away with event materials and useful individual resources for further learning.

Want to host a consumer awareness session at your organisation? Contact our clinical trials team at clinicaltrials@gh.org.au to get started.