Connecting with the community

Involving consumers in medical research means more than just asking patients to volunteer for clinical trials. Consumers - the people who use our healthcare system, and who ultimately benefit from medical research - have a valuable role to play in the design and execution of our research.

SAHMRI partners with the Health Consumers Alliance of South Australia (HCA)

Together, we're creating a framework to help consumers have a voice in our research. We have established a Consumer & Community Engagement Committee, which is made up of health consumers, SAHMRI researchers and representatives from the HCA.

Our goal is to help consumers and researchers develop strong and productive relationships. Consumers help inform how we do our research, and provide focus on the areas of research that we believe are worth exploring.

Researchers benefit from the consumer perspective on research priorities, and a clearer understanding that the lived experience of a disease can differ to a strictly clinical interpretation. It's also a great opportunity for researchers to share progress and findings with people for whom the research is directly relevant.