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NIH seeks public input

BETHESDA, Dec 04 (Reuters Health) -- In response to criticism that it

does not have enough

public input, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is creating a

new council to bring the

public's opinion to its doorstep.

The 20 members of the NIH Director's Council of Public Representatives

will be drawn from

groups such as patients, patient families, health professionals,

scientists, and communicators. It

will meet twice a year, and " may suggest other activities, " according

to an NIH statement.

The Council " will assist the NIH in enhancing the participation of the

public in myriad NIH

activities that have an impact upon the public, in increasing public

understanding of the NIH and

its programs, and in bringing important matters of public interest

forward for discussion in public

settings, " according to the NIH.

The plans come in the wake of a July report that said the NIH needed

more public input in

priority setting and that the agency had not done a good job of

telling Americans how it spent

its money.

" We believe NIH has fallen short in reaching out to the public, " said

Leon Rosenberg, chairman

of the panel at the Institute of Medicine that issued the report.

The NIH has now set up an Office of Public Liaison in each of its 21

institutes, said Anne

, director of communications in the NIH Director's Office. These

offices will be points

of contact for the public, and help implement ideas developed by the

Council.

In regard to the new Council, Sue son, an IOM panel member and

dean of the s

Hopkins School of Nursing, said she worried that the NIH's application

process might attract

only those versed in science, ignoring minorities, the disabled,

medically underserved, and those

truly affected by disease.

" I guarantee that won't happen, " said Harold Varmus, director of the

NIH, on Thursday.

On December 1, NIH published a call for applications to the new

Council in the Federal

Register. Nominations for the Council will be accepted up until

January, 15, 1999. Council

selections should be completed in February, and the first meeting is

scheduled for April 1999.

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