The increased focus on patient involvement in medicines research and development in recent years has led to the launch of a number of education courses to provide training for people living with sight loss, and many other conditions, to upskill in these areas.
EUPATI was designed for patients and patient representatives who want to learn about the medicines research and development process. The in-depth course is a mixture of independent e-learning coursework and face-to-face training events over a 14-month period. Since it was established in 2014, 12 Irish participants have completed the course, two of these have been Fighting Blindness members.
EUPATI have also developed a toolkit and many patient education resources which are available at www.eupati.eu.
Building on the success of the European training course, IPPOSI (Irish Platform for patients, Science and Industry) launched a national training course in 2017. This IPPOSI-led programme delivers training for Irish patients on health research and innovation including modules on clinical trials, medicines regulatory affairs and health technology assessment. The course is a mixture of e-learning and face to face training delivered over a 10-month period, the current programme is due to finish in November 2019. To date two Fighting Blindness members have completed the programme. For more information please visit the IPPOSI website.