It's the 1st of October, and for the second year running we launch our Origami 4 Clinical Trials (#O4CT) Campaign. This campaign is all about thanking clinical trial participants for their selfless contribution to advancing healthcare for all (alongside hope for themselves). We offer our origami sunflowers as one way to do that, though of course there are many ways you can show your gratitute to clinical trials participants.
Why Celebrate Clinical Trial Participants?
When we go to the doctor or take medicine, we usually don’t think about how those treatments became available. Before a new medicine or treatment can be used by everyone, it has to go through clinical trials. Clinical trials help us know what works, for whom, and how safe it is.
Without people volunteering to take part in clinical trials (called trial participants), we couldn't find out what works, for whom, or how safe it is. Healthcare would be a gamble. Clinical trial participants are the vital glue, the medical heroes, helping advance healthcare for everyone.
We hear alot about the researchers that make discoveries, or the companies releasing amazing new treatments, preventions, diagnotics, even cures. But we don't hear much about the thousands of people that will have taken part in trials to help take each researcher's discovery from the lab into the clinic, via a company that needs to make it.
We should do more to celebrate the extraordinary people volunteering for clinical trials.
Clinical trial participants come from all walks of life. Some might be healthy volunteers, while others might have a medical condition they hope to help treat. No matter their background, they share one thing in common: the willingness to help others. Many participants join trials because they want to make a difference. They know that by volunteering, they are helping future generations, making healthcare better, and potentially saving lives. It is the ultimate act of selflessness... to put your body on the line for others.
Thank You, Clinical Trial Participants!
To everyone who has ever participated in a clinical trial, we want to say a big THANK YOU.
To clinical trial researchers, sponsors and sites, we encourage you to thank your trial participants for their contribution to your work, and healthcare.
To the general public, the next time you see a new medicine or hear about a medical breakthrough, remember: it wouldn’t be possible without the selfless people who take part in clinical trials.
Origami 4 Clinical Trials - #O4CT
There are many ways you can show gratitude to trial participants. From the simple words 'I thank you and appreciate you', to cards, to gifts, to showing kindness and respect and treating them as people, not numbers and data sources.
We've chosen Origami Sunflowers as our way of celebrating and thanking trial participants. You can find all the reasons why we chose these in this post from last year.
We think there is something special about spending a little time to make something by hand for someone. 30mins spent making a sunflower is a real commitment of time. To take this time, shows someone how much you care about them as a person, and the time they have devoted to participating in the trial.
We also know a few minutes of mindfulness like that spent making the sunflowers can do wonders for the mental health of the maker too. Whether spent quietly on one's own making the sunflower, or as a group bonding activity, makers can also get something out of it beyond the joy of giving and thanking someone.
Your purchase of origami sunflowers will send out ripples of positive energy in so many directions, toor trial participants gifted them, to those that make them, to those that gift them, and to AccessCR, helping sustain our efforts to support and advocate for the needs of CCReW (the community and consumer research workforce, which includes trial participants).
We won't ask you to do anything we won't do.
So we will make and gift an origami sunflower to a trial participant every day during October (ie 31 sunflowers).
To help us with gifting, you can request we gift a trial participant a sunflower via this page. It costs you nothing, and helps us keep our promise.
So here's our challenge to you....
this October,
how will you #ThankATrialParticipant?
We hope you will purchase an https://accesscr-ccrew-shop.com.au/category/origami-4-clinical-trials#origamisunflower (to make or made) to gift. Whatever you choose to do, we'd love you to tag our socials and let us know about the selfless trial participant in your world you are grateful to.
