Communications Handbook Launched

The Microbicides Media & Communications Initiative (MMCI) on Monday 24 May 2010, on the sidelines of the International Microbicides Conference (M2010), launched a Communications Handbook for Clinical Trials.

The handbook offers strategies, tips and tools to manage controversy, convey messages and disseminate results. The handbook is co-published by the Microbicides Media & Communications Initiative (MMCI), a multi-partner collaboration housed at the global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM) at PATH in Washington, DC, and the Family Health International (FHI) in Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. The project was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through dual grants to MMCI and FHI.

The handbook is designed to serve the needs of those who conduct, plan, or implement clinical trials with the objectives of providing practical guidance on how to anticipate and respond to the special communications challenges posed by the conduct of clinical trials in relation to the involvement of the media.

The handbook includes:
1. Sample communication plans for clinical trials
2. Communications and crisis-planning templates and checklists
3. Scenario-planning tools to facilitate planning for the release of trial results
4. Ideas on delegating communications tasks to reduce demands on key site personnel
5. Tips and techniques on how to communicate effectively in interviews, in meetings, and with the media

Chapters of the handbook were shared with over 80 individuals in 13 countries and involved many others who authored case studies, shared materials, and reviewed earlier drafts of the publication.

The preface of the handbook was done by Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu who remarked, "One of the greatest joys and responsibilities of democracy is the freedom of speech. We have the luxury and the burden to communicate our struggles, our hopes, our work, and our passion. In the fight against HIV and the long journey to finding new ways for the most vulnerable to protect themselves, a key challenge is to communicate the logic and the promise of this important work."

The handbook is available on request to: handbook@mmci-communications.org