When Dr Shyamsundar Muthuramalingam joined a clinical trial in 2018 as a person living with kidney disease, he could not have imagined that years later he would be working in a regional health service conducting that same trial.
SWiFT is a registry-based cluster randomised controlled trial investigating whether regular monitoring of symptoms such as fatigue, pain and anxiety, with direct feedback from haemodialysis patients to their clinical teams, can improve health-related quality of life.
For Shyam, the SWiFT study is more than a research project. It is a reminder that clinical trials are not just about data, protocols or publications. They are about people, symptoms, dignity, access, and whether the health system is willing to listen.
Shyam is now Director of Clinical Research and Teletrials at Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network (BHFLHN), a newly established role that is being funded by the Australian Teletrial Program – South Australia. The Australian Teletrial Program – SA has enabled research workforce capacity and capability across regional South Australian health services that previously did not exist.
“Being part of SWiFT as a participant gave me a voice,” Shyam says. “Seeing SWiFT delivered now through a regional teletrial model shows me what is possible when the system listens. For me, this is life coming full circle — from patient, to advocate, to helping build research capability for regional communities.”