Using Clinical Trials Marketing To Effectively Retain Most Of Your Participants

By Author: William Johanna
Total Articles: 9
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It is rare for a clinical trial to retain a hundred percent of its participants until the very end; a good number of people typically drop out of the study along the way. Nonetheless, retaining as many participants as possible until the conclusion of the study is crucial for the overall success of any clinical trial granted that the results of a study are directly affected by the number of participants. If one loses a significant portion of participants then the final results may lack scientific validity. Losing participants along the way also stymies the progress of a study because one must recruit fresh participants and basically restart the whole process. Delays occasioned by factors such as these can force a company to delay the market launch of a product, a harsh reality given that such delays are worth millions of dollars in lost opportunity. Retaining all participants is therefore one of clinical trial services main priorities.

Clinical trials marketing is an important tool in recruiting people for studies and there are numerous methods that can be used to market a study to as many prospective participants as ...
... possible. However, once the participants are recruited, marketing is no longer sufficient to keep all the participants involved up to the end. Medical trial services professionals have had to think out of the box to come up with innovative strategies to augment marketing so as to encourage participants to remain in the study.

Clinical trial services have discovered that by taking care of most of the participants’ logistical issues the participants are more likely to remain in the study. To this end they have come up with measures like providing transportation to ferry participants to and from the clinic. Because most participants who quit clinical trials cite tight schedules and time constraints as the main hindrances to their continued participation, trial services are becoming more flexible. Rather than wait for participants to come to their offices they are now opting to go to participants’ homes to interview them and collect data from them. Alternatively, participants can be given flexible appointments with research personnel so that they can plan their time more effectively. Appointments can be planned after hours or on weekends for people who work during the day.

By eliminating their participants’ hassles clinical trial services are now encouraging more people to stay until the conclusion of their studies. Researchers are indeed coming up with plenty of clever ideas intended to make life easier for their participants. For instance, some researchers will avail childcare for mothers when they come for appointments. Refreshments and snacks are common incentives as well. To encourage participants to keep up with monotonous tasks like keeping journals, they can be provided with exciting journals, colorful notebooks, reminders, and other stationery.

Creating an effective participant retention strategy obviously costs money but it is money well spent considering the headaches it will spare the researchers. The retention strategy should be part and parcel of the planning right from the clinical trials marketing phase to the very end of the trial.

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