5 Ways to Improve Patient Engagement in Clinical Trials

Patient engagement in clinical trials can help improve a troubling statistic: 30% of trial volunteers ultimately drop out of their study. Of course, patients are free to leave a clinical trial at any time, for any reason. But sites and sponsors do have some common reasons patients leave a trial, such as lack of appreciation for their participation and forgetting visits. Incorporate these tips into your trials to help patients feel connected to your research and committed to seeing it through.

1. Involve patients in trial design before your trial launches.

If you can identify issues in your trial design before the trial launches, you can create a trial that patients are more likely to be interested in and potentially avoid recruitment and retention challenges. Though this idea has been discussed in clinical research circles for a few years, in a survey conducted by Scorr Marketing, more than a third (41%) of respondents had never solicited feedback from patients about their trial. Of those that did, most used surveys, and some reached out to patient communities and patient advocacy groups. All three can be effective ways to ask patients about what daily life is really like with their condition, and what benefits they may receive from participation, as well as barriers they may face.

One interesting idea for pharmaceutical companies is to run a live protocol simulation. AstraZeneca, for example, hosted a lupus clinical trial simulation to get feedback from patients on how they planned to run their trial. Patients then made recommendations on how to improve the trial experience.

2. Use electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) to engage patients outside the site visit.

One of the most talked-about approaches to improving patient engagement is through electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO). This technology allows patients to provide information related to the trial through their own electronic devices, or through a device provided by the trial. "ePRO allows patients to report their outcomes virtually any time and any place, reducing the number of scheduled clinic site visits," Carley Nolan, Director of Marketing at Clinical Studio, told Antidote. "Additionally, the use of text reminders and push notifications help to keep patients informed throughout the trial."

Some ePRO vendors allow sites to create email or text message reminders for site visits, as well as create newsletters or other messages to connect with patients in between visits.

3. Provide incentives to stay engaged.

Financial compensation most likely comes to mind first when you think of participation incentives. It's true that 33% of patients in a CISCRP survey reported that financial compensation drove them to stay in a trial. But that leaves 67% who stayed in a trial for other reasons, such as a desire to fulfill a commitment. Consider other ways to make patients feel appreciated, such as providing a small certificate for punctual site visits. One trial successfully reduced its early termination rate by 50% by providing milestone achievement cards to participants, for example.

4. Engage the patient's caregiver or family members, too.

If you're offering compensation for meals or travel, consider also including a budget for the patient's caregiver, depending on the trial. You can also consider including a family member or caregiver on your email or text message list if you're sending out site visit reminders. Many people, whether they're enrolled in a clinical trial or not, rely on family members to remind them of important tasks. Making trial engagement a team effort with the patient's loved ones can help.

5. Follow-up at the end of your trial.

If a patient has a positive experience in your clinical trial, they may be more likely to evangelize clinical trials with friends and family.

In a survey, 75% of patients reported that they would like to receive the results of a clinical trial after it ended. Sharing trial results was also a major topic at this year's DPharm conference, as well. In addition to sharing the results of your trial, surveying patients at the end of your trial can offer helpful insights for your next study. Asking patients for feedback after the trial can be a final way to show your appreciation to patients, and may encourage them to take part in a trial again, or share opportunities with others.

If you're looking for support recruiting for your clinical trials, download our case studies to learn how we connect patients with research through our network of 270+ partners.