22 May Mom And CCRP Identifies Must-Haves For Pediatric Trials

By Samantha Sharpe, Clinical Leader

Face-to-face interaction is becoming less present as we move toward a technologically integrated society. In the field of clinical trials, there has been a massive push in the last few years to utilize technology to make clinical research operations more efficient. While those digitalization and decentralization efforts might save time and money, they can’t replace the in-person interaction that is often integral to the patient recruitment and enrollment process, which is a known struggle in the field of clinical research. In fact, reports show that around 70% of trials have start-up delays, 80% fail to achieve on-time enrollment, and 45% miss completion targets. By shifting toward a patient-focused, inclusive approach and including principles of shared decision-making, the patient recruitment and consent process can be transformed into an invitation for study participation.

Both recruitment and retention can be improved by making small changes to techniques and implementing cost-effective methods to reduce barriers and make participants feel more included in the overall research process. From study design to patient engagement, I have learned some subtle adjustments and tactics during my career in managing investigator-initiated studies at an academic medical institution that can yield increased engagement and create a lasting impact on the research participant’s experience. Read  more…