ESMO Workshop: Science for Advocates

Patient and patient advocates are increasingly involved in decision-making in healthcare and the setting of research agenda.

Knowing how to access scientific literature, correctly analyse and interpret data, hold a scientific argument and to effectively and correctly communicate scientific content have therefore become essential advocacy skills.

43 Patient Advocates from 23 European Countries gathered in Munich for the 1st ESMO Science for Advocates workshop on 13-15 October 2017 which provided a combination of lectures and group work and looked at the reasons Patient Advocates should care about Science.

"True patient empowerment is impossible without a certain degree of understanding of clinical Science", commented in the introductory slides by Bettina Ryll, Chair of the ESMO Patient Advocates Working Group (PAWG) and founder of the Melanoma Patient Network Europe (MPNE).Understanding the latest scientific developments allows patients to make informed treatment choices, especially critical in the absence of established treatment paths, and it is impossible to provide accurate healthcare information to patients without accurate understanding of the underlying Science.

This weekend workshop provided participants with the opportunity to get started reading original scientific literature, appreciate the basic statistical concepts to better understand the results, practice communicating complex concepts to relevant and different audiences. They were also able to apply learned skills from the workshop, including statistical information to enable them to calculate the magnitude of clinical benefit of anti-cancer therapies by using the ESMO-Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS).

Download the final programme

Travel Grants

ESMO offered a limited amount of travel grant is available to support patient advocates ‘participation.