Finding and Retaining Clinical Trial Participants

An important factor in recruitment success is how a participant is first approached. Without a positive and effective initial contact, a participant may choose not to join the trial. Making a strong first impression helps build trust, clarify expectations, and lay the foundation for ongoing engagement.

As consumers and patients increasingly use online options for medical and treatment information, online recruitment campaigns have become common place in clinical trials.

Tips for using social media and search engines:

• Research targeted keywords for your participant populations
• Tailor messages to your target audience and test these with your consumer or patient representatives
• Use appropriate language and tone
• Consider which key points will be most appropriate
• Consider enlisting or hiring digital marketing support

• Inquire whether access to your site’s patient database is possible for your trial and check the necessary approval process. Alternatively, your site may have designated recruitment staff who can assist with pre-screening and connect patients with clinical trial opportunities.
• Explore using clinical trial recruitment apps such as ClinTrial Refer
• Consider requesting access to participant registries such as Join Us, or other major data collections through CHeReL or AIHW.

Patients often prefer to hear about clinical trial opportunities from their trusted clinicians, whose recommendations and advice they value. Consider developing tailored materials about your trial designed specifically for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Leverage existing relationships between your site and local hospitals or general practices to help spread the word. Face-to-face meetings or connecting with healthcare staff at conferences or workshops can be effective ways to raise awareness and encourage referrals.

Engage with the community to raise awareness about your clinical trial. Consider presenting to local patient support groups or community groups. You could also attend community markets and fairs.

If your team lacks the resources to manage participant recruitment internally, consider engaging a recruitment company. Meet with several providers to discuss your budget and specific needs. The companies may offer digital advertising, access to participant databases, or connections to not-for-profit organisations working in the therapeutic area being researched.

Once a person has been successfully recruited into a study, it’s essential to support them through to trial completion. To help retain trial participants:

• Schedule appointments at convenient times for the participant, send reminders, and maintain open communication
• Send reminders to complete tasks such as participant diaries, home-based activities or tests, and/or interviews
• Implement communication strategies that streamline information flow and offer after-hours support
• Regularly follow up and check in with participants to ensure they are doing well
• Invite feedback on what could be improved to enhance their experience
• Share relevant updates with trial coordinators and other team members to ensure continuity and support
• When possible, share interim and final results so that participants know more about the progress and outcomes of the trial.