Traditionally having the general public engage with research has always been a challenge. Clinical Trials have been shrouded in mystery with little known by the public on how or why they were conducted. This has often acted as a barrier to recruitment from many areas of our society.

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic it became clear that while our entire society was being effected, some communities were hit harder than others. Those most affected have been the very same communities that have historically been underrepresented in research in the UK.

As a national priority COVID-19 study for the UK the PRINCIPLE team have been recruiting directly from the public, allowing people to join the trial from the comfort and safety of their home. This has created a huge need to engage with both the general public at large and to specifically increase efforts in those marginalised communities known to be most vulnerable.

With the appointment of Professor Mahendra G Patel, the PRINCIPLE trial has been working to engage with a diverse range communities across the UK in order to increase general awareness around clinical trials and research. As people learn more about the purpose of our trials, and the contribution they make, engagement with our trial increases, helping to bring us closer in our mission to finding suitable treatments for COVID-19.

This has involved working with a range of groups and institutions that are the very fabric of our communities.  We feel it is important that we engage with as many layers of our community as possible. Therefore we have now fostered relationships everyone from religious and cultural groups, to local government, community press and even multinational companies.

We are above all trying hard to work with our local communities.

To find out more about our outreach work and partnerships see below.

The PRINCIPLE Trial has been extremely grateful to have the support of many fantastic communities and organisations across the UK. These range from large religious organisations to small local community support groups.

This enormous variety in organisation both in terms of size and purpose is to ensure we can engage with as many people as possible nationwide. This also ensures we are able to engage with many groups missed by traditional trial recruitment methods. 

These community groups are working to educate and inform their communities of the many options and support structures available during the pandemic.

This section includes a selection of the groups that have engaged with the PRINCIPLE Trial in order to raise awareness within their own communities.

We are currently working with a variety of health professional organisations. These have been organised along, profession, specialism, religious or community lines. This variety again is key to ensure we are informing as wide an audience as possible. 

These organisations are comprised of our front line health workers and are critical to raising awareness among health care professionals. These front line workers are the very people we want to keep most informed of our work. By doing this we intend to raise awareness across the entire community, including those most vulnerable to COVID-19.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society have been an actively working as a partner to support the trial since the appointment of Professor Mahendra G Patel.

Pharmacy is a key component of our outreach efforts as pharmacists are increasingly been seen as a front-line face of health care. Pharmacists have long been providing health advice to their own communities on a variety of issues. Therefore working with our pharmacists to keep them informed about the trial is one of the best ways to ensure as many communities in the UK as possible have a chance to hear from a trusts face about the options available to them.

For more on our work with pharmacists please see our pharmacy section.

To find out more about the Royal Pharmaceutical Society or read about how they are supporting the PRINCIPLE trial please click below.

https://www.rpharms.com/recognition/all-our-campaigns/science-research

The aim of the DSN Forum UK is to share best practice to improve outcomes for people living with diabetes, to connect diabetes specialist nurses across the UK within a supportive network and to reduce unnecessary duplication in resources across diabetes nursing.

We at PRINCIPLE have been working alongside the DSNF to raise awareness as Diabetics are a key group that has been particularly vulnerable COVID-19. We hope to be able to provide as much support to this key group as possible to improve outcomes for people with diabetes fighting COVID.

To download their letter of endorsement please click here.

For more information please click below.

https://www.diabetesspecialistnurseforumuk.co.uk/

The Guild of Health Care Pharmacists have been working with the PRINCIPLE trial to keep as many front line pharmacists as possible informed of and spreading information about the trial in their local communities. 

Professional organisation such as this are essential to keep Health Care professionals up to date with the latest studies.

We will continue to work together to keep Pharmacists engaged with the trial and any updates that they may need to be aware of. As a platform trial PRINCIPLE has a constantly changing list of treatments to evaluate and as these are added to and removed from the trial it is important our health care professionals are fully informed.

As we have seen with other partnerships we view pharmacy as a key way to keep local communities informed of the PRINCIPLE trial.

To read more on their work please use the link below.

https://www.ghp.org.uk/2020/11/07/statement-of-support-for-the-principle-trial/

The PRINCIPLE Trial have been working with the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin North East Division to raise awareness in their members of the PRINCIPLE Trial.

This is a key demographic of professionals based in a area greatly affected by PRINCIPLE. This work will help keep professionals on the front-line informed of PRINCIPLE and able to spread awareness to more vulnerable patient groups, including the elderly, BAME, and those in deprived communities.

To read the endorsement please click here.

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The PRINCIPLE Trial with Professor Mahendra G Patel, have been working with regional and local NHS organisations and councils across the country.

This helps to reach both the health professionals and the general public in these areas.Leading to increased awareness about the trial in areas that are being particularly hard hit by COVID-19. 

The PRINCIPLE Trial have been working with Lancashire County Council, through it's Director of Public Health Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, in an effort to encourage people across Lancashire to join PRINCIPLE as a nationwide clinical trial.

They have been emphasising the importance of our nationwide priority trials are to finding suitable treatments for us in the community.

Lancashire County Council have also been reminding people that the PRINCIPLE Trial is entirely remote. You can participate from the comfort of your own home from anywhere in the UK with no face-to-face visits required.

Our work with local governments enables us to communicate directly with areas that may need more support and to communicate with people who may be missed by traditional forms of communication including media and national press.

To read more please click below.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/coronavirus-updates/clinical-trials/

Bradford District and Craven CCG has been supporting the PRINCIPLE trial since earlier in the year encouraging practices to become involved.

Recently going further to be much more pro-active in their encouragement of participation. Including City Health Federation of GPs (which covers 16 inner city practices) publicly endorsing the trial and actively recruiting to it.

The CCG has a vibrant and ethnically diverse population of over 600,000 people living in Bradford District and Craven. A significant proportion of their communities identify themselves as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and they have the largest proportion of people of Pakistani ethnic origin in England. 

Stating in their endorsement, "We recognise that nationally and locally, Covid 19 presents an increased risk to our BAME population and we will work hard with our partners and communities to help you raise awareness of this public health trail, particularly amongst our BAME communities."

To read the endorsement in full please click here.

To read more on the work of City Health Federation of GPs click here.

Greater Manchester Local Pharmacy Committee (LPC) is the largest LPC in the UK, and is the focus for all community pharmacists and community pharmacy owners. It is an independent and representative group.

As such it has been raising awareness among its members and encouraging community pharmacists in the area to advertise the PRINCIPLE Trial in the region. Pharmacies are an essential service and one of the key places to spread awareness to vulnerable demographics in our communities.

To read more click here.