What it means to build effective and comfortable patient experiences changes with each passing year, as both medicine and the world around us continue to evolve.
Choosing the right recruiting methods is of the utmost importance to ensuring the best patient experience possible.
In fact, 19% of trials are prematurely terminated because of poor recruitment. Another 33% of trials need to extend their recruitment time. Clearly, it can be a serious hurdle to overcome while planning a trial.
So, here a few ways how to improve patient recruitment in clinical trials.
Recruiting with Social Media
A highly useful tool to consider in this effort is social media.
As of 2020, there are 3.96 billion social media users on at least one social media platform around the world. This is a 10.9% increase from 2019.
In the United States specifically the rates are even higher. Eighty-three percent of Americans over the age of 13 have social media accounts.
Now that COVID-19 has pushed life even further into the internet realm, incorporating social media campaigns in patient recruitment is an extremely effective way to reach potential patients.
Traditional Methods vs. Modern Strategies
Instead of traditional methods of marketing such as print, billboards, television, and radio, social media offers a wide array of new, highly used platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, TikTok, Snapchat, and many more.
The benefits of using social media for patient recruitment are evident:
- Social media ad campaigns can often be less expensive and time-consuming to produce than traditional methods of marketing (such as a leaflet that would require printing and distribution).
- It makes data tracking and analysis more feasible.
- Collecting and understanding this information in real time can lead to improved knowledge of the trial disease and medication and, in turn, a better patient experience.
Social media also allows patients and clinical providers to communicate directly, like a two-way street. It allows for better responses and engagement from both parties.
Traditional television or billboard ads, on the other hand, are one-sided, as patients can see them but cannot engage with them.
More Possibilities Online
The wide range of possibilities on the internet also allows clinics to narrow their search for specific patients who would be best to include in the study. This includes strategically searching for online forums or pages for patient advocacy groups for a specific disease. Recruiters can also use the internet to market the particular benefits of a study.
Younger Patients
For example, if a study is seeking younger patients, patient recruiters should consider what a young person may need at this point in their life.
Young people are often living in a transitional stage, may not have a healthcare provider, or may need help getting treatment for a condition once they are no longer on their parents’ health insurance.
Additionally, advertising the other benefits offered by a study, such as flexible schedules and monetary compensation, can entice young people to join.
Older Patients
If an older patient is ideal for a particular study, however, the focus shifts.
If current market options are too expensive or have been exhausted, elderly patients may be looking for alternative sources of treatment. Showing that a clinical study can provide them with a new and potentially cost-free route may grab their attention.
Older patients also might be interested in the proximity of the site to their location since mobility and travel limitations may pose difficulties.
Additional Points to Consider
Whatever type of patient may best fit a study—based on their age, gender, race, sexuality, or economic background—it is crucial to consider what will speak to them most effectively.
Social media should not be treated as a podium for grandstanding, but rather as a vast and varied ocean of possibilities for global connections.
Intention and execution mean everything in a world where anyone can market online, and they are inextricably linked to patient experience.
At G3 Life Sciences, we understand how positive intentions and effective execution can benefit a clinical study and the patient experience. From pre-clinical to post-launch, we can help make your study a success. Contact us today to learn how.