Patient Recruitment Tips for Clinical Research Professionals

44 Views
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
It is common for clinical research professionals to experience delays in releasing drugs on a commercial scale due to high costs and the complexity of clinical trials. Some major reasons that have led to these delays include sophisticated science, increased regulations and testing procedures, and the targeting of complicated and interconnected diseases by researchers. Some other reasons that have contributed to delays include the number of patient reactions to trial drugs, obtaining of drugs online by consumers, increased abuse of medicines, and expensive class action suits against drug manufacturing firms. These drug delays translate into large revenue losses for drug manufacturing firms. One of the major causes of these delays lies in the recruitment and retention practices of suitable patients for clinical trials.

Recruiting Clinical Trial Patients

There are a number of ways that clinical research professionals can recruit and retain volunteers for clinical trials. Some of the steps are discussed below.



In order to get patients for clinical trials, clinical research professional should be familiar with the population that is being studied. The patients can be found in schools, community organizations, churches, professional organizations, long-term care facilities, civic organizations, or worksites. Patients can also be found over the internet through specialized networks or special interest group sites.

During evaluation of potential clinical trial patients, it is important to be in contact with people capable of providing information about the potential patients. Proper inclusion should be carried out and feasible sample sizes should be used during selection to validate the findings of the clinical trial.

Clinical research professionals may come across procedural and political obstacles while trying to access research patients in health care agencies. Therefore it is prudent to establish connections with the administration in these firms, as these individuals are crucial in getting approval to conduct clinical trials. Individuals in top management who are well versed with the type of study the clinical research professional is undertaking are also crucial, as they may help in identifying other important personnel that is in charge of approving trials to be carried out.

Retaining Clinic Trial Patients

There are different reasons why individuals participate in clinical trials and this prompts the clinical research professional to use various ways to attract and retain volunteers. Some of the recruitment strategies that are commonly used include telephone, media, personal contact, and written recruitment. The strategies are used to inform the potential volunteers about the purpose of the clinical trial. The way that the study is delivered to the potential participant will determine whether the individual will be willing to participate in the study. Some clinical research professionals prefer to use the word ''project'' or ''study'' instead of ''research'' when in contact with the potential volunteers, due to the negativity that is associated with human studies.

In recruiting volunteers for large projects, broadcast and print media are effective as well. If this is the form of communication preferred, the clinical research professional should make sure that the information is short, concise, clear, and positive. Other print material, such as brochures, personalized letters, posters, fliers, and pamphlets may also be used. When these are the media of communication, the language should be simple to ensure all participants fully understand it. The print materials should convey the purpose of the project, eligibility for participation in the study and contact information. All media used in the recruitment process should contain this basic information. Clinical research professionals should ensure that all materials used for recruitment are approved by review boards to ensure that human rights are protected.

Clinical research professionals who use telephone calls for recruitment should portray caring attitudes when enrolling or recruiting participants. Apart from telephones, the clinical research professionals have the option of using web technologies to reduce clinical trial delays, as well as to maintain patient relationships.

Benefits of the Internet

The internet provides cheaper way to recruit patients than other traditional media, like radio, television, and print. The internet has the potential to reach a large population, as opposed to other traditional media. It is also helpful in educating the patients about the process of the clinical trial and helps them make informed decisions on whether they want to be involved in the research or not.

To increase the number of volunteers for clinical trials, clinical research professionals should consider launching rebranding campaigns. Educational campaigns should also be considered to inform the public of the benefits of clinical trails. The internet is an effective medium for advertisement, and commercial advertising solutions can help clinical research managers launch advertisements with minimal costs. Clinical research professionals should ensure that patients adhere to the study requirements until its completion through regular motivation and pushing for education awareness even after the study is completed. In case the research volunteers would like to be informed of the outcome of the research, this may be delivered through a single page letter to them expressing appreciation for the valuable contributions they made to the study.

Since individuals participate in clinical trials for different reasons, it is important for the clinical research professional to outline the reasons and importance of carrying out the study. He or she should also describe how the project data will be put to use in designing future studies, developing programs, or providing valuable information to other researchers.
If this article has helped you in some way, will you say thanks by sharing it through a share, like, a link, or an email to someone you think would appreciate the reference.

Popular tags:

 researchers  potential  organizations  managers  methods  communication  human studies  procedures  administration  volunteers


By using Employment Crossing, I was able to find a job that I was qualified for and a place that I wanted to work at.
Madison Currin - Greenville, NC
  • All we do is research jobs.
  • Our team of researchers, programmers, and analysts find you jobs from over 1,000 career pages and other sources
  • Our members get more interviews and jobs than people who use "public job boards"
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.
ClinicalResearchCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
ClinicalResearchCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists in the world.
Copyright © 2024 ClinicalResearchCrossing - All rights reserved. 21