Yorkshire at fore in groundbreaking COVID-19 research for BAME community

Professor Mahendra Patel, from the University of Bradford, has joined a groundbreaking trial on treatments for Covid-19 as its national BAME community research lead.

Led by the University of Oxford, the UK’s PRINCIPLE trial, is currently testing two antibiotics: azithromycin and doxycycline, to see whether early treatment can help over-50s recover quickly from Covid, without needing hospital admission.

Leading the call from Yorkshire is Professor Patel, the co-Investigator for the trial and the Community Pharmacy Research Champion for the NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Clinical Research Network.

He said: "This trial is vital in the fight against coronavirus - it is about getting to those who are worse affected and most at risk and I am fighting for the BAME people who are being disproportionately hit by this.

"There has to be a more concerted and tailored effort to reach out to Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities more effectively in health research, particularly in the case of COVID-19 where we are seeing members of these communities unfortunately experiencing a greater risk of contracting the virus with higher adverse effects and even deaths."

He added: "In my role as national pharmacy research lead, I have been recruited to help raise greater awareness and support wider engagement to this trial, both in the community and in primary care. This is irrespective of people’s backgrounds and includes reaching out to the Black and Asian minority ethnic communities and those living in deprived areas."

Prof Patel, who is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board and has worked extensively with different BAME communities around health inequalities for more than 20 years, added: "South Asian communities have a different outlook to engaging with health research and studies, and this may be the case with Black and other minority ethnic groups as well.

"How you reach out to the different communities is vital to ensure proper understanding and confidence is attained owing to people’s different cultural and religious beliefs and attitudes.

"Of course, the more people volunteering to take part in these studies and trials, the greater the likelihood for an effective and safe means of tackling the virus is established."

It is open across the UK to people aged over 50 with an underlying health condition or anyone aged over 65. Those with symptoms can join online from home or via GP practices across the country, without needing face-to-face visits.

In his role as co-investigator in the trial Prof Patel will work closely with black and Asian minority ethnic groups, to help increase awareness regarding the importance of engaging in the trial within these higher-risk communities, through both community and primary care settings.

Lead Investigator, Professor Chris Butler from University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said: "Reaching out to the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities through areas such as local places of worship and community centres using a more targeted and culturally sensitive approach is crucial for researchers seeking to understand more about COVID-19 and how to treat it.

"This is particularly important in communities where language, cultural and religious beliefs and attitudes may present as a barrier to engagement."

The trial is one of the UK Government’s national priority platform trials on treatments for COVID-19, with over 850 participants already signed up and contributing.

While developing grassroots partnerships has been a major focus of the trial’s recruitment strategy so far, recruiting people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities has been a particular challenge.

The study is ongoing and to find out more about how to take part at www.principletrial.org____________________________

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James Mitchinson