Developing a toolkit for patient and public involvement in antimicrobial medicines development research: Breaking new ground

摘要

AimsudPatient and public involvement (PPI) in antimicrobial medicines development research is a new and challenging area. We aim to share some of the barriers and strategies to developing a toolkit to support PPI in this area. The PPI toolkit development is part of COMBACTE-MAGNET, a European project funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (www.imi.europa.eu) to seek new ways of treating multi-resistant bacterial infections.ududWhy is it important and to whom?udThere is currently no literature focusing on PPI in antimicrobial medicines development research. The toolkit addresses the need for evidence-based guidance on how to carry out PPI throughout the antimicrobial medicines development lifecycle. Learning from the toolkit development process will be important to researchers, PPI leads, and patient and public contributors who are interested in developing PPI in new and/or challenging clinical areas.ududWhat difference has, or could, this project make?udThe toolkit will showcase the importance of PPI in antimicrobial medicines development research, to change perception and increase the receptivity of various stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies, towards PPI. This is intended to result in the establishment or improvement of PPI-related policies in this area, with the toolkit serving as a practical guide on how to conduct and evaluate PPI.ududKey learning pointsudDelegates will learn about the challenges of developing a toolkit with European collaborators in an area of research that is driven by the pharmaceutical industry, with little/no experience of PPI to date, due to concerns about its complexities and confidentiality issues. They will also learn about strategies that can facilitate the toolkit development process, which may be useful for their own projects.