Participant recruitment in clinical trials is more than a formality; it plays a crucial role in the success of medical research. In this short guide, we explore what participant recruitment involves and outline strategies to overcome the challenges that come with it.
Clinical trial recruitment is the process of identifying, attracting, and enrolling suitable participants for a clinical trial. Those who take part help test new treatments that have passed the necessary safety assessments for human trials.
Recruiting the right participants is crucial, as the success of a trial depends on having individuals who meet the study’s requirements. Some trials have strict eligibility criteria, while others are open to a broader group of people. Regardless of scope, effective recruitment plays a key role in advancing medical research and bringing new treatments to market.
While participant recruitment is a crucial aspect of clinical trials, it comes with many challenges.
Although awareness of clinical trials is increasing through channels like social media, many eligible individuals remain unaware of these opportunities. This limited visibility poses a significant challenge to participant recruitment. At hVIVO recruitment services, we design bespoke marketing campaigns which are advertised through our leading participant recruitment arm, FluCamp, the leading paid clinical trial recruitment in the UK, to ensure your trial reaches the right audience and generates the necessary awareness.
A high level of interest in a clinical trial does not always translate into a suitable participant pool. Even if individuals meet the initial eligibility criteria, further screening may exclude them later in the process. At hVIVO recruitment services, we help overcome this challenge with a unique approach by leveraging our database and state of the art CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system of 370,000+ pre-screened participants to identify the most suitable for your trial. This is done efficiently through our highly trained specialist agents who support and manage participants throughout their application journey.
Even after passing eligibility and screening, there is no guarantee that participants will follow through with the trial. Some may not fully grasp the logistical commitments required, while others may experience psychological barriers, such as concerns about side effects, as the trial becomes more ‘real’. Ensuring participants remain engaged and supported throughout the process is crucial to minimising dropouts. hVIVO recruitment services, through their advanced CRM, offer agility, speed and a multimedia communication system to inform, engage and retain participants throughout the clinical trial process.
There are several clinical trial recruitment strategies that can help overcome the challenges outlined above. Here are just a few of them:
At hVIVO recruitment services, we design tailored marketing campaigns to ensure your trial reaches the right audience. The same applies when recruiting for different disease cohorts, such as asthma, where communication and channels must be highly targeted to ensure successful clinical trial recruitment. hVIVO recruitment services adopt marketing tactics that align with your target participants. For instance, the primary channel for recruiting patients is through physicians, KOLs and primary care channels, where all material is adapted to the specific touchpoint and managed by the specialist patient recruitment team. For healthy participants, visibility on the social media channels they use and the practice of leveraging ex‑volunteers to share their experiences is a proven strategy that has helped FluCamp earn the trust and traction it has today, with a 100% recruitment success rate.
Access to a pre-screened database of eligible participants can significantly speed up participant recruitment for clinical trials. If you don’t have this in-house, collaborating with healthcare providers is one way to improve recruitment efficiency. Alternatively, you can work with a participant recruitment organisation, which will have their own database to identify potential participants. At hVIVO recruitment services, we have a database of over 370,000 pre-screened volunteers that we can tap into to quickly find the most suitable participants for your trial. Screening can be carried out at two centrally located sites in Manchester and London, where we offer physician screening and can manage 1,000+ in person screenings weekly.
It may seem like a small step, but participant recruitment is one of the main reasons clinical trials are delayed and is a crucial role in the success of a clinical trial. Taking the time to recruit the right participants ensures your trial runs smoothly and delivers meaningful results. By outsourcing this process to a specialised clinical trial participant recruitment company, you can save time and focus on executing your study effectively.
At hVIVO recruitment services, leveraging our database of 370,000+ pre-screened participants and our specialist in-house marketing team, which designs and executes tailored recruitment campaigns, can ensure you find the right participants for your specific requirements.
Visit hVIVO recruitment services to learn more or contact us at clinrecruit@hvivo.com to discuss a solution for your trial recruitment.
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