Bendigo Health’s annual Research Week will run from 14-18 October 2024 and provides a program of interactive sessions designed to support staff in understanding and undertaking research, with the theme ‘Improving Care, Changing Lives’. The highlight of Research Week is the Bendigo Health Research Showcase on Friday, 18 October, an in-person event.
At the showcase, Narelle McPhee, a Steering Committee member of the ReViTALISE Immunotherapy Trials initiative, will be presenting a study conducted with her colleagues, Di Hughes and Dr Eli Ristevski from the Monash School of Rural Health, Warragul.
The presentation, “It’s a Reasonable Gamble. Why do Rural Cancer Patients Participate in Clinical Trials”, will discuss their qualitative study, which examined what factors influence rural-residing people with cancer to participate in cancer clinical trials, and their retention.
They interviewed 17 participants from the Bendigo Cancer Centre who were participating in a variety of clinical trials. Factors that influenced their decision to participate in a cancer clinical trial included trust and confidence in clinical trial staff, exposure to and trust in the experiences of cancer peers, altruism, low-risk trials and local access to trials.
The factors influencing their decision to remain in a cancer clinical trial included balancing the benefits, risks and burdens of the trial, having no doubts about participating despite knowing the risks, and seeing the personal benefits of participating in a cancer clinical trial. The study is awaiting acceptance for publication.
Bendigo Cancer Centre is a member site of the Regional Trials Network-Victoria and leads the ReViTALISE Immunotherapy Trials Initiative. The initiative aims to increase regional trial participation in immunotherapy, and the knowledge of side effects across regional workforce. It also provides access to immunotherapy research, especially in cancers newer to immunotherapy interventions, potentially delivering better health outcomes for regional Victorians.