Research in Europe and Diversity Inclusion (READI) is public-private partnership funded by the Horizon Europe Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) and driven by meaningful co-leadership with patients.
READI’s main objective is to enhance the representativeness of underserved populations in clinical studies by fostering a more cohesive and integrated clinical study ecosystem, with the ambition of achieving full inclusion by placing the patient at the centre. It will actively connect key stakeholders involved with underserved and underrepresented communities, and equip them with the necessary tools, training programs, and strategies essential for recruiting and retaining underserved and underrepresented patients in clinical studies.
To demonstrate READI’s capacity to broaden representation in clinical research, the approaches will be tested in real-world pilot clinical and non-clinical use cases, supported by industry partners. The work will include mapping the characteristics of these populations using Real-World Data (RWD), developing standardized descriptors for their inclusion, collecting insights and informing regulatory and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) policies to enhance representativeness in clinical studies.
READI will help underserved and underrepresented communities overcome barriers to clinical study participation, such as lack of information or awareness, mistrust, poor communication, geographic limitations, and prejudice. In addition, READI will design and implement a patient-centred, open, and innovative digital platform. This platform will improve access to clinical study information and READI tools, while fostering patient connections with established communities.
The University of Aberdeen’s main area of work in READI is around methods to identify who should be in a trial for characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, as well as other efforts focused on writing trial protocols that lead to more inclusive trials. The READI project is supported by a consortium of 73 organizations, drawing together expertise from clinical research, patient advocacy, digital health, and regulatory affairs.
For more information please visit https://ihi-readi.org/.
Contacts
- Shaun Treweek; streweek@mac.com
- Miriam Brazzelli; m.brazzelli@abdn.ac.uk
- Sarah Prowse; s.prowse@abdn.ac.uk