scholarly journals The Role of Social Media in Enhancing Clinical Trial Recruitment: Scoping Review

10.2196/22810 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. e22810
Author(s):  
Ida Darmawan ◽  
Caitlin Bakker ◽  
Tabetha A Brockman ◽  
Christi A Patten ◽  
Milton Eder
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Trial Participation ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Enrollment Rates ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Background Recruiting participants into clinical trials continues to be a challenge, which can result in study delay or termination. Recent studies have used social media to enhance recruitment outcomes. An assessment of the literature on the use of social media for this purpose is required. Objective This study aims to answer the following questions: (1) How is the use of social media, in combination with traditional approaches to enhance clinical trial recruitment and enrollment, represented in the literature? and (2) Do the data on recruitment and enrollment outcomes presented in the literature allow for comparison across studies? Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature search across 7 platforms to identify clinical trials that combined social media and traditional methods to recruit patients. Study and participant characteristics, recruitment methods, and recruitment outcomes were evaluated and compared. Results We identified 2371 titles and abstracts through our systematic search. Of these, we assessed 95 full papers and determined that 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 17 studies reported enrollment outcomes, of which 9 achieved or exceeded their enrollment target. The proportion of participants enrolled from social media in these studies ranged from 0% to 49%. Across all 33 studies, the proportion of participants recruited and enrolled from social media varied greatly. A total of 9 studies reported higher enrollment rates from social media than any other methods, and 4 studies reported the lowest cost per enrolled participant from social media. Conclusions While the assessment of the use of social media to improve clinical trial participation is hindered by reporting inconsistencies, preliminary data suggest that social media can increase participation and reduce per-participant cost. The adoption of consistent standards for reporting recruitment and enrollment outcomes is required to advance our understanding and use of social media to support clinical trial success.

scholarly journals The Role of Social Media in Enhancing Clinical Trial Recruitment: Scoping Review (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Darmawan ◽  
Caitlin Bakker ◽  
Tabetha A Brockman ◽  
Christi A Patten ◽  
Milton Eder
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Trial Participation ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Enrollment Rates ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Traditional Approaches

BACKGROUND Recruiting participants into clinical trials continues to be a challenge, which can result in study delay or termination. Recent studies have used social media to enhance recruitment outcomes. An assessment of the literature on the use of social media for this purpose is required. OBJECTIVE This study aims to answer the following questions: (1) How is the use of social media, in combination with traditional approaches to enhance clinical trial recruitment and enrollment, represented in the literature? and (2) Do the data on recruitment and enrollment outcomes presented in the literature allow for comparison across studies? METHODS We conducted a comprehensive literature search across 7 platforms to identify clinical trials that combined social media and traditional methods to recruit patients. Study and participant characteristics, recruitment methods, and recruitment outcomes were evaluated and compared. RESULTS We identified 2371 titles and abstracts through our systematic search. Of these, we assessed 95 full papers and determined that 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 17 studies reported enrollment outcomes, of which 9 achieved or exceeded their enrollment target. The proportion of participants enrolled from social media in these studies ranged from 0% to 49%. Across all 33 studies, the proportion of participants recruited and enrolled from social media varied greatly. A total of 9 studies reported higher enrollment rates from social media than any other methods, and 4 studies reported the lowest cost per enrolled participant from social media. CONCLUSIONS While the assessment of the use of social media to improve clinical trial participation is hindered by reporting inconsistencies, preliminary data suggest that social media can increase participation and reduce per-participant cost. The adoption of consistent standards for reporting recruitment and enrollment outcomes is required to advance our understanding and use of social media to support clinical trial success.

Using Social Media to Increase the Recruitment of Clinical Research Participants

2018 ◽  
pp. 7181-7189
Author(s):  
Saliha Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Clinical Research ◽  
Recruitment Strategies ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment

Research has shown that clinical research continues to have difficulty recruiting participants. This problem is expected to increase as the number of clinical trials increases and as there continues to be more focus on complex diseases and treatments. Researchers have typically relied on traditional recruitment methods to recruit participants, which revolve around the physicians and their support staff having the primary role to locate and recruit these participants. However, with individuals using online platforms such as social media to retrieve information, this creates an opportunity for research site personnel to use it as a way to relay information on clinical trial opportunities. Studies that have used social media as a way to recruit participants are discussed. Furthermore, pros and cons of social media for recruitment, along with recommendations that future researchers should consider when deciding whether to implement this type of strategy in their clinical trials will be shared. In general, clinical trial recruitment strategies need to shift to an approach that is not only more targeted, but also has a larger reach. By evaluating the success of studies that have used social recruitment strategies so far, it is evident that future researchers can also achieve recruitment success through social media. Moreover, social media could be a promising new avenue for clinical trial recruitment that allows for a more positive experience for both investigative site personnel and potential participants.

Willingness of patients with pancreatic cancer to participate in clinical trials.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 4055-4055
Author(s):  
Pelin Cinar ◽  
Anitra W. Talley ◽  
Jimmy Hwang ◽  
Daniel Paul Dohan ◽  
Margaret A. Tempero
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Trial Participation ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment

4055 Background: Recruitment of oncology patients into clinical trials continues to be a challenge as <5% of patients are accrued. Low accrual rates may be due to reduced awareness of trial availability and eligibility by physicians/patients. Our objective was to study the attitudes of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) regarding clinical trial participation and to identify possible barriers to recruitment. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we collaborated with Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) and invited patients with PC or their caregivers to complete a survey. The survey that was developed consisted of 22 questions and inquired about patients’ previous clinical trial enrollment experiences and their views on participation. The surveys were collected over a 6-month period via the PanCAN website and regional meetings. Comparison analyses between groups were done by Chi-square and Fisher’s test using STATA software. Results: Of the390 surveys received, 149 were included in the final analyses. 30% of the patients were offered to participate in a trial by their physicians. When asked to participate, 62% of the patients agreed. Of the patients who were not enrolled in a clinical trial, 61% were offered to participate in a trial but did not agree. This suggests that these patients were eligible to participate but declined. Conclusions: Majority of the patients with pancreatic cancer were not offered to participate in clinical trials by their physicians but would have agreed if asked. While low clinical trial recruitment rates for PC may be multifactorial, further research may focus on the important role of physicians in clinical trial recruitment efforts. [Table: see text]

Using Social Media to Increase the Recruitment of Clinical Research Participants

2019 ◽  
pp. 587-597
Author(s):  
Saliha Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Clinical Research ◽  
Recruitment Strategies ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment

Research has shown that clinical research continues to have difficulty recruiting participants. This problem is expected to increase as the number of clinical trials increases and as there continues to be more focus on complex diseases and treatments. Researchers have typically relied on traditional recruitment methods to recruit participants, which revolve around the physicians and their support staff having the primary role to locate and recruit these participants. However, with individuals using online platforms such as social media to retrieve information, this creates an opportunity for research site personnel to use it as a way to relay information on clinical trial opportunities. Studies that have used social media as a way to recruit participants are discussed. Furthermore, pros and cons of social media for recruitment, along with recommendations that future researchers should consider when deciding whether to implement this type of strategy in their clinical trials will be shared. In general, clinical trial recruitment strategies need to shift to an approach that is not only more targeted, but also has a larger reach. By evaluating the success of studies that have used social recruitment strategies so far, it is evident that future researchers can also achieve recruitment success through social media. Moreover, social media could be a promising new avenue for clinical trial recruitment that allows for a more positive experience for both investigative site personnel and potential participants.

A Scoping Review of Social Media Sites as a Tool for Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarett Anderson ◽  
Austin Hamp ◽  
Michelle Militello ◽  
Ryan Geist ◽  
Jaclyn Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
The United States ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment ◽  
Media Applications

BACKGROUND Clinical trials are an essential process in discovering new biomedical or behavioral outcomes in disease processes. There are several steps involved in creating a clinical trial. One step, patient recruitment, is often touted as the largest contributor to trial delays, which has financial, scientific, and ethical ramifications. Approximately 1.2 billion dollars in the United States is spent each year on this process and as many as 86% of clinical trials do not meet recruitment targets within their perspective timeframes, and 19% of trials had to be terminated early due to insufficient recruitment and/or patient retention1. Social media is a viable, inexpensive tool that can be utilized to improve both recruitment and retention rates2. To date, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and others have been widely utilized in recruitment for clinical trials, communication among stakeholders, and educational tools. Social media also has the advantage of reaching populations that otherwise would be more difficult to reach3. A list of these platforms and each of their distinct advantages for clinical trial recruitment can be found in Table 1. This review aims to highlight the unique characteristics of several social media platforms and their advantageous properties in increasing recruitment and retention during clinical trials. OBJECTIVE This narrative review analyzes the current use of several social media sites in clinical trial recruitment and retention. It also offers insight concerning potential uses of these sites that are not currently utilized. METHODS A literature search was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate to access and review relevant articles published in peer-reviewed journals concerning social media and its use in clinical trials. Two independent researchers with education and experience in dermatology screened publications to select studies featuring quantitative results concerning social media and clinical trial recruitment. RESULTS 13 social media applications were studied and reviewed. 7 of these social media sites or applications have currently been studied, and their use in complementing traditional recruiting methods such as advertisements in newspapers, health fairs, and direct mailing, has been analyzed and reported. 6 additional social media applications have further been studied, and their potential use within clinical trial research has been additionally analyzed. CONCLUSIONS A large number and variety of social media platforms exist to aid in the recruitment and retention process for clinical trials, many of which can utilize niche features and reach a targeted demographic. Although recruitment remains a barrier for researchers involved in clinical trials, the potential to recruit through social media may be underutilized. Many avenues that exist to improve recruitment have not been leveraged. For example, partnering to create collaborative videos with social media influencers on platforms such as Instagram and Youtube may help to broaden the audience and increase clinical trial enrollments. Creating biomedical educational profiles or channels that discuss details of clinical trials with descriptions of these trials could also be employed to increase the scope of the audience. Reddit, Smart Patients, and Patients Like Me can target difficult-to-reach patient populations due to their use of subgroups, allowing researchers to reach their target audience. Additionally, many of these platforms provide user engagement features that allow users to respond directly to videos or posts and could be used to encourage enrollment by allowing users to react directly to clinical trial advertisements.

Social media for oncology clinical trial recruitment: Oncologists’ attitudes and perceptions.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18066-e18066
Author(s):  
Mina S. Sedrak ◽  
Arti Hurria ◽  
Virginia Sun ◽  
Daneng Li ◽  
Jennifer Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Oncology Clinical Trials ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment

e18066 Background: Social media may be an effective strategy to improve public awareness of oncology clinical trials and increase accrual. How oncologists perceive the role of social media in clinical trials now and in the future remains unknown. We explored oncologists’ attitudes and perceptions related to social media and clinical trial recruitment. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 medical oncologists at City of Hope from March to June 2018. Primary measures were oncologists’ self-reported benefits, concerns, and future interventions to leverage social media for trial recruitment. Secondary measures were facilitators and barriers to social media use for professional purposes. Responses were recorded digitally, transcribed, and de-identified. Data was managed using NVivo v12. Two analysts coded interview data using thematic content analysis (kappa = 0.7). Results: Of the 44 participants, 55% were academic and 45% were community oncologists, 36% were women, and 68% had > 10 years of experience. The most commonly cited benefit was increased awareness and visibility (63%). The most commonly cited concerns were: lack of time or support (31%), misinformation or oversimplification (31%), and lack of guidance (regulatory/ethical oversight) (28%). Oncologists reported a desire for an institutional-level intervention (e.g., personnel support with social media expertise) to facilitate trial recruitment using social media (50%). Oncologists’ perceptions of the facilitators to social media use for professional purposes were centered on networking (40%) and staying up to date in the field (33%). Perceived barriers were clustered around lack of comfort, training, time (38%), and lack of evidence of benefit (25%). No differences were identified between academic and community oncologists. Conclusions: Oncologists are hopeful that social media can increase awareness and visibility of cancer clinical trials. However, they have numerous concerns about the application of social media in clinical trials due to lack of time, support, and risk of misinformation. Further research is needed to examine whether social media can facilitate recruitment to oncology clinical trials.

Increasing Health Literacy to Improve Clinical Trial Recruitment

2018 ◽  
pp. 94-108
Author(s):  
Saliha Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Negative Perception ◽  
Consent Forms ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment ◽  
And Training

Health literacy has been found to be linked to healthcare understanding and decision making. Therefore, it makes sense why individuals who do not understand clinical trials will be less likely to want to enroll in one. In fact, three major barriers found in the literature that prevent potential participants from enrolling in clinical trials include a distrust or negative perception, lack of understanding, and lack of accessible and affordable healthcare. Hence, there is a need to increase potential participants' healthcare understanding so that they can make the best healthcare decisions for themselves. Strategies suggested to help increase potential participants' health literacy include revising informed consent forms, utilizing culturally targeted statements, using a variety of material, and training investigative site personnel. These proposed strategies may help increase health literacy, which in turn could improve clinical trial recruitment. Furthermore, these strategies focus on different elements of health literacy and coupled together may bring the most improvement.

Clinical trial awareness in oncology patients of diverse ethnic background: A single-institution analysis.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e19217-e19217
Author(s):  
Gautam Valecha ◽  
Nishitha Thumallapally ◽  
Sandy El Bitar ◽  
Terenig O. Terjanian ◽  
Louise Madrigal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Clin Oncol ◽  
Tumor Stage ◽  
Trial Participation ◽  
Cancer Clinical Trials ◽  
Single Institution ◽  
Staten Island ◽  
Enrollment Rates ◽  
Zip Code

e19217 Background: Clinical trials offer several advantages to the patients including access to innovative treatments with improved survival rates, closer monitoring and follow-up with removal of health disparity; and aim to advance the science of medicine. Yet, worldwide enrollment rates in cancer clinical trials have been only about 5 percent, despite the fact that a significantly higher percentage of Americans have a desire to participate in clinical trials [1, 2]. We conducted a single institution study to gain knowledge about clinical trial awareness in our cancer patient population as well as to identify the barriers within provider-consumer communication that prevent enrollment. Methods: A 10-question survey was distributed by medical assistants and surveys (n=222) were collected at the end of each clinic visit. Responders included racial/ethnic minorities and underserved patients, representative of the ethnic diversity in the Staten Island Borough of New York City. Demographic data including age, gender, zip code, race and ethnicity were recorded. Additionally, Charlson comorbidity index and tumor stage was also recorded. Results: 159/222 patients (71.62%) completed the survey. Of these patients, 47 (29.55%) answered every question on the survey, while 112/159 patients (70.44%) answered only few of the questions. The completed surveys are linked by zip code to the different boroughs of Staten Island, which allows us to identify hubs with lack of clinical trial awareness knowledge. Conclusions: Despite the several advantages for patients and medical field, enrollment rates in clinical trials remain very low. Our study results help in gaining knowledge about clinical trial awareness among oncology patients, correlated to comorbidity and tumor stage. In addition, demographic hubs with lack of knowledge are identified as targets for community outreach and education. A multilevel approach will be developed to address identified barriers that exist for patients, and will be implemented at community level, to reduce ethnic bias in trial enrollment and increase trial participation among an ethnically diverse population. References: 1. Unger JM, Cook E, Tai E, Bleyer A: The Role of Clinical Trial Participation in Cancer Research: Barriers, Evidence, and Strategies. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2016, 35:185-198. 10.1200/EDBK_156686 2. Comis RL, Miller JD, Aldigé CR, Krebs L, Stoval E: Public attitudes toward participation in cancer clinical trials. J Clin Oncol. 2003, 21:830-835. 10.1200/JCO.2003.02.105.

Mo1793 Clinical Trial Recruitment with Social Media - What to Expect

2016 ◽  
Vol 150 (4) ◽  
pp. S777-S778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Bressler ◽  
Hal Gunn ◽  
Julie Jang ◽  
Gillian Vandermeirsch ◽  
Xn Y. Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Trial Recruitment ◽  
Clinical Trial Recruitment
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