Expanding Access to Pragmatic Trials Training: CANTRAIN and HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program Initiate Collaboration

online learning

November 2024

Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada) Pragmatic Trials Training Program is collaborating with CANTRAIN, a CIHR-funded clinical trials training platform dedicated to competency-based, modular e-learning, to enhance the quality and capacity of the Canadian clinical trials workforce.

As part of this collaboration, CANTRAIN is sharing educational modules produced by the HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program on its website, amplifying the reach of these resources. The two-year pan-Canadian program offers weekly open access modules that cover different pragmatic clinical trial components, from understanding the basics of trial design to trial implementation, statistical analysis, quality control and oversight and other trial components.

This collaboration aims to amplify the high-quality learning material produced under the HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program, allowing as many interested learners as possible to benefit from this valuable knowledge.

“We designed this program to be publicly accessible because we want as many people as possible to learn about pragmatic clinical trials,” said Dr. Amit Garg, who is leading the training program. “Done well, pragmatic clinical trials can yield valid and highly generalizable results faster than traditional trials and at a fraction of the cost, a critical advantage for strengthening Canada’s healthcare response to current and future health challenges.”

The HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program is funded by the CIHR, coordinated by the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, and is an initiative of HDRN Canada. This formal training program coaches researchers through the complex art of conducting pragmatic clinical trials.

In the future, CANTRAIN and the HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program are exploring further collaborations to offer the learners even greater access to CANTRAIN’s educational resources through its learning management system.