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1. Best Strategies for Successful
Recruitment and Retention

2. Conducting a trial is a complex
process that's composed of many
different procedures and aspects.
Two of the most crucial and vital
components of conducting a study
are patient recruitment and patient
retention. No trial can start without a
successful recruitment, and no trial
can end with success without
retaining the patients to complete
the trial until the finish line.
Following the tips in this
presentation will give you the
necessary knowledge to be able to
successfully conduct your study
without any problems recruiting and
retaining patients.
Introduction

3. Planning in Advance

4. The 4 most important steps to follow in order to
properly plan your recruitment campaign:
1. Gain an understanding of your audience;
2. Determine your available resources;
3. Learn the expectations of sponsors/CROs;
4. Evaluate your final results;

5. - The specifics and traits of your ideal participant;
- The benefits that will motivate your ideal
patient to participate;
- The audience that you're trying to reach – only
participants or also a caregiver/family member
who will accompany the patient;
Understand Your
Audience1.

6. - Start with your internal database. Recruiting patients doesn't necessarily mean huge
marketing and lots of money. Most of the times, the best way to start recruiting is to focus on
the inside;
- Contact the most qualified potential participants first. When you're reaching out to patients,
start by contacting the ones that are most qualified for your study and the ones who are easier
to get in touch with;
- Start with no-cost/low-cost. Recruiting potential participants doesn't necessarily mean huge
marketing and advertising. There are many other options that cost nothing (or almost nothing),
such as networking, reaching to physicians for referrals, community outreach, attending related
events, etc.
Available
Resources2.

7. - A smart, written plan - When sponsors and CROs look for a site for their studies, the one thing
they will appreciate the most is having an actual plan that's written and documented properly.
- Estimated budget for recruitment tactics + strong explanations - Put an estimation of costs for
every recruitment tactic that you're planning to use. This will give the sponsor/CRO an idea of
the budget needed for recruiting and will show seriousness and commitment from your part.
- The outcome in metrics - Having actual numbers with the help of metrics will give a clear
overview to the sponsor/CRO of the outcome and the final results.
Learn the Expectations
of Sponsors3.

8. - How are you determining what worked and
what didn't?
- Which tactics worked and why?
- Which tactics didn't work and why?
- What obstacles did you encounter?
- What were the numeric, actual results from
each tactic?
Evaluation of
Final Results4.

9. Common Problems of Patient
Recruitment

10. Poor patient recruitment will put your site at risk of not
being able to attract any more future studies and will
have a negative impact on your site's credibility,
reputation, budget, and trustworthiness.
Knowing the importance of patient recruitment, we
must gain a better understanding of what this complex
process entails.

11. The harm that misunderstandings cause
to patient enrollment is clearly
supported with numbers. Although 83%
of patients see clinical studies as being
extremely important, only 3% of
oncology patients enroll in these clinical
trials in the US.
It is estimated that more than 40% of
adults have no idea what a clinical trial
is, and that 8 out of 10 patients with
cancer aren't aware that they can
participate in a clinical trial. These
statistics are concerning for both the
sites and the prospective patients.
Problem #1
Problem #2
Study Misunderstandings
Problem #3
Fear of Being a 'Guinea Pig'
Fear of experimental practices and
unknown outcomes is another big
reason for patients being afraid to
enroll in a clinical trial.

12. In order to have a successful enrollment,
patients first must have a knowledge of
the existence of that study and know
how to access it.
Not being able to afford travel costs,
missing work days, communication
obstacles... These are all individual
obstacles that are difficult to solve and
will negatively affect patient
recruitment.
Problem #4
Problem #5
Individual Skepticism and
Obstacles
Unknown Access

13. Divide the population
by age, ethnicity,
diagnosis, geography,
sex, etc. Doing this will
help you target your
participants more
easily.
Tip #1
Targeted Recruitment
Once the prospective
patient contacts you,
make sure to react
quickly and be
responsive!
Tip #3
Knowing what works and
what doesn't will be of
tremendous help for
future studies.
Tip #2
Send a Clear
Message
When it comes to
marketing and promoting
the study, sites can choose
either traditional or more
modern and alternative
ways of promotion. Often, a
combination of both is
what works best.
This message should speak
directly to your targeted
audience and convey a clear
understanding of the study
itself and the protocol.
Finally, the message you
send should also include a
call to action.
Tips For More Successful Patient
Recruitment
Tip #4
Advertising Media
Tip #5
Assess the Final
Results

14. Patient Retention Problems
(Dropping Out)

15. ● After a successful recruitment, you will have to work on retaining
your patients throughout the duration of the whole study. In some
cases, dropouts happen because of some circumstances that
cannot be changed or prevented, but in others, dropouts can be
prevented or stopped.
● Patients that drop out of a trial can simply just stop appearing
(coming to appointments) or they can formally notify the
investigator. In the second option, the investigator can still try to
reverse the situation and stop that patient from withdrawing.

16. Some of the most common study-related reasons for patients dropping
out include:
- Protocol difficulties regarding procedures, dosages, timelines;
- Losing motivation and will to continue;
- More serious or unpleasant side effects;
- Financial issues connected with the study;
- Improvement of the disease;
- Lack of improvement from the trial drug;
- Peer pressure from other participants;

17. Monitoring the
participants' satisfaction
in a trial is an important
practice that will help
you stay ahead of any
problems that might
arise.
Tip #1
Monitor Satisfaction
Being a convenient and
comfortable site will
increase the chances of
patients staying
throughout the whole
process and not drop out.
Tip #3
Convenient &
Comfortable
Finally, the last and final
tip for a better patient
retention is knowing the
protocol. Every single
person from your staff
should be educated and
trained for the specific
study protocol that you're
going to conduct.
Tip #2
Consistent
Communication
Showing enthusiasm
throughout the whole
study, no matter how long
it takes, is important in
order to improve the
overall atmosphere of the
study and prevent your
patients from losing
interest and dropping out.
Regularly contacting
patients and consistent,
open communication is a
proven way to keep your
patients happy and
manage to retain them
until the end of the trial.
Tips For More Successful Patient
Retention
Tip #4
Staying Positive
Tip #5
Protocol Education

18. Using a CTMS platform will give you
the necessary management tools,
database records, budgets and costs
tools, records of daily activities, and
most importantly – track the
outcomes of your recruitment efforts.
Tracking Records
With a CTMS

19. ✓ Plan everything in advance!
✓ Anticipate the most common recruitment
problems!
✓ Work with targeted recruitment for best
results!
✓ Use both traditional and modern outlets for
recruitment!
✓ Find creative solutions to solve recruitment
problems!
✓ Anticipate the most common retention
problem – dropping out!
Checklist
✓ Try to keep your patients happy
throughout the whole study in
order to retain them and keep them
from withdrawing!
✓ Be educated and have knowledge
about the protocol!
✓ Document and keep track of data
throughout the whole trial period!
✓ And finally – showcase your site's
success and increase your chances
of future studies!

20. Although there are many factors that might affect patient
recruitment and retention, and this whole process is a lot
more complex than we can explain in words and theory,
hopefully, the above-mentioned tips and techniques can
give you a better idea of what to expect and how to
increase your site's success.
Conclusion