Paper short abstract:

This paper is concerned with how health care systems operate in times of epi/pandemic emergencies; the role of anthropology and anthropological research strategies for directing health policy guidelines; and for informed clinical practice at national and international levels.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is concerned with how health care systems operate in times of epi/pandemic emergencies; the role of anthropology and anthropological research strategies for directing health policy guidelines; and for informed clinical practice at national and international levels. Rapid up-scaling of clinical research is central to ensuring an adequate response in a crises epi/pandemic situation. A key requirement is to ensure appropriate compliance with all statutory Ethical, Administrative and Regulatory guidelines. However these as well as social and cultural factors may be seen as obstacles hindering research.

PREPARE, a European research consortium of social scientists and clinicians have highlighted multiple structural and social factors that impede effective, timely, harmonised international research.

This paper points up inconsistencies in the juxtapostion of the current regulatory mechanisms in Europe with clinical researchers' empirical experience in navigating through this system. It will reveal an important contrast between rhetoric and reality and the consequences of this.

The PREPARE research employed a raft of research techniques to identify potential barriers to epi/pandemic research.

High profile professional stakeholders (frontline physican researchers) from several Member States (MS), were interviewed via, 1) an on-line survey, 2) secondary data on clinical trial authorisation, 3) ethical approval processes in each MS and finally via a series of in depth ethnographic style interviews (face-to-face and via telephone). The paper presents a discussion of triangulated data and indicates a range of vital issues that are dogging harmonised and effective research in times of epi/pandemics.