Updated on December 4, 2023
INTRODUCTION
Recruiting into research is one of the biggest challenges for clinical research organizations. It has the potential to hurdle clinical research, resulting in the potential loss of business for clinical research organizations and a delay in treatment for people who need them.
Bad patient recruitment strategies can result in clinical research organizations needing help managing their finances properly. The high cost of recruiting into research can result in a significant impact on the long-term feasibility of the research.
Revival Research Institute is a well-known clinical research organization in Michigan and Texas employing advanced recruitment strategies. This blog will highlight possible ways to improve recruitment strategies in clinical research as well as provide reasons why people should consider being part of clinical trials. Continue reading to find out more about how recruiting into research can be turned from a weak point into a strength by employing the right strategy and how participants can gain benefits from it.
FINDING PARTICIPANTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
The world is constantly changing and with the dawn of social media, almost everyone uses or has used social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Joining different groups and spreading their message can help with recruiting into research.
Alternatively, putting out social media posts and spending on ad campaigns (even better if your budget allows!) is another very important way to reach people.
Cookie tracking and retargeting can provide multiple touchpoints for patients to learn about a clinical trial and increase the time spent considering participation.
Furthermore, WhatsApp groups can be formulated with a patient pool in which you can run messages informing interested people about new trials.
Besides social media, one could try email marketing or cold messaging on LinkedIn as well.
LEVERAGING PERSONAL NETWORKS FOR RECRUITING INTO RESEARCH
How you choose to recruit participants for your research trial ultimately depends on budget, time availability, and requirements. This makes PR extremely important as it is a budget-friendly way to recruit people. One thing to keep in mind is the tendency for potential biases as your friends, colleagues, family, and wider network may lead to biased feedback. They may also be reluctant to share critical feedback that could prove to be a game changer for the whole research.
RECRUITING INTO RESEARCH THROUGH ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Online forums can help you reach even more people. One can use online communities to target specific populations by filtering people out. Sometimes, you may need to speak to moderators before proceeding with recruitment efforts.
INFORMING HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ABOUT YOUR TRIALS
A study by CISRP concludes that 64% of people would like to hear about clinical research from their healthcare providers. Clinical research organizations can improve their recruiting into research by placing outreach materials at the doctor’s offices. Better still, you could partner with hospitals to convey the message to all the staff that work there.
COLLABORATING WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND PATIENT ADVOCACY GROUPS
Getting in touch with nonprofit organizations and patient advocacy groups can help spread your message to people. This method is especially beneficial as people trust and respect these sources of information. In return, knowledge could be spread to people about how beneficial recruiting into research can be.
CONTACTING LABS AND EHR COMPANIES
Labs and electronic health record (EHR) companies have access to patient data which they can utilize to screen participants in advance. Screening people before they participate can help prevent waste of time and money, and also not dishearten people.
RECRUITING MINORITIES INTO RESEARCH: NEED OF THE TIME
When inviting participants for recruiting into research, it is important to understand the role of recruiting minorities. This also includes people from underprivileged backgrounds. Having minorities in clinical trials is important for the newer drugs to be effective for larger and more inclusive backgrounds.
Revival Research Institute knows the importance of minorities and does its best to raise awareness among the general public.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR PARTICIPANTS?
Participants can benefit from recruiting into research through multiple ways:
- Gaining access to potentially novel therapies that are not available to the general public. Multiple health conditions have no definite treatment as of now. Revival Research Institute conducts multiple clinical trials for dermatology, including one for atopic dermatitis.
- Enhanced care by physicians who are part of our clinical research programs. They may be able to offer better care, and you could easily report any effects that may come about.
- Benefit from healthcare facilities at investigational sites.
- Ultimately contributing to the development of new medicines—imagine participating in a clinical trial that could help people fight off a disease as common as the flu and COVID-19.
CONCLUSION
Conducting and participating in clinical trials are a great way to improve the well-being of people battling different conditions. They could also save millions of lives in the future, just like they have in the past. A lot of clinical trials fail because of not being able to recruit as many participants as expected or mismanagement of finances. Thus, clinical trials need to be exceptionally efficient especially when it comes to recruiting into research.
And this is a testament to Revival’s efficient research processes which has enabled it to stand out and be a leading clinical research facilitator. Owing to our exceptional track record and state-of-the-art facilities, we invite sponsors to partner with us in making dreams come true. We also invite participants to take part in our research studies because without them we would not have come this far.
