Any individual considering to take part in research must be given detailed information about the research, such as potential risks and benefits. Once the information is understood and the individual decides they are happy to participate, they usually sign a consent form. This process is referred to as ‘informed consent’. Informed consent is challenging in critical care research where overwhelmed families have to make quick decisions on behalf of their severely ill loved one. Family members also find current consent forms too lengthy, complex and hard to understand. In this project, our team will work together with patients and members of the public in Pakistan to improve informed consent for two critical care research studies. The aim is to make the informed consent forms and processes more suitable to the needs of patients and their families. First, our patient and public collaborators will receive training on the two studies and consent. Then, we will hold a series of online and in-person meetings to carefully review existing consent processes and forms. Recommendations from the review will be used by graphic designers to create new materials, which will be edited based on feedback from our patient and public collaborators as well as research staff, ethics review board members and clinicians before finalisation. The new proposed consent processes and forms will be used by the two critical care studies in Pakistan. Insights from the project will also be used to make recommendations for research studies globally so that informed consent works for all patients.
17 Aug 2026
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