Patient Participation

Behavioral science reveals how recruitment failures, site disengagement, and underrepresentation in clinical trials are rooted in early design decisions, and what sponsors can do to address them before they become costly problems.

In this Q&A, Krishna Cheriath, VP and head of clinical research digital data and AI at Thermo Fisher Scientific, examines how AI is reshaping clinical operations—from case intake and trial design to site burden reduction and the emerging reality of agentic AI in the workforce.

Pharma modernization initiatives stall not from lack of ambition but from expanding governance layers that distance leadership from execution, slowing decision velocity and delaying the systems integration that drives competitive advantage.

In part 3 of this three-part series, behavioral science reveals that clinical trial diversity cannot be achieved through last-minute recruitment efforts, but requires designing protocols, sites, and enrollment strategies around the real barriers and needs of underrepresented communities from the outset.

The April issue of Applied Clinical Trials delves into the priorities driving patient engagement approaches today from the technology, regulatory, and site operations fronts.

In part 2 of this three-part series, behavioral science and service design reveal how poor experiences with confusing information, unreliable technology, and inefficient processes drive site disengagement and patient dropout, and how measuring these experiences early enables practical, evidence-based solutions.

Vaccine developers can reduce participant burden and extend follow-up timelines by strategically combining traditional site visits with real-world data collection, but the choice depends on follow-up duration, data requirements, and the patient population being studied.

In this Q&A, Mohammed Saeed, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Solera Health, explores how wearable devices and continuous remote monitoring are reshaping clinical oversight, from early intervention to AI-driven pattern detection.

Analysis from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development suggests that transparency in clinical evidence, community engagement, and more representative clinical trials are key factors associated with faster vaccine adoption and improved public trust.

Older adults generate disproportionately high engagement in digital trial recruitment, suggesting they represent an overlooked opportunity when recruitment systems are designed around their actual behavior rather than outdated assumptions about digital capability.

Rising development costs, low success rates, and increasing trial complexity are reshaping the clinical trial project manager role, demanding stronger digital fluency, adaptive leadership, and expanded stakeholder coordination to deliver studies efficiently.

Findings from the VA’s Diuretic Comparison Project show pragmatic trial designs can achieve strong provider participation when burden is minimized and patient care remains the primary focus.

Webinar Date/Time: Thursday, March 12th, 2026 at 11am EDT | 8am PDT | 3pm GMT | 4pm CET

Jeremy Wyatt, CEO, Ametris, discusses how operational best practices for integrating wearables into oncology trials center on minimizing patient burden through thoughtful workflow design, careful device selection, and early planning to ensure digital measures fit the realities of complex patient populations.

Miriam Dervan, founder & CEO of mdgroup, explains how treating patient experience as a strategic investment—rather than a secondary consideration—changes how sponsors, sites, and operational teams design and deliver clinical trials.

Amid mounting political and legal pressure, corporate DEI efforts, particularly in life sciences, are largely holding steady, with leadership, boards, and shareholders continuing to frame inclusion as a strategic driver of innovation, performance, and representative clinical research.

Examine how practical AI applications can streamline contracts and startup workflows while preserving the central role of investigators, site staff, and patient relationships in clinical research.

As Parkinson’s disease cases surge worldwide, growing evidence gaps around women’s biology, care access, and outcomes are driving new data-driven and digital strategies to advance sex-specific research and precision medicine.

As AI-driven search becomes the primary way patients discover research opportunities, the quality and structure of clinical trial registry data will determine whether transparency translates into real, equitable access.

Explore how sponsors can recalibrate efficiency efforts to avoid overconcentrating trials at familiar sites and instead expand access through community partnerships, point-of-care research, and intentional outreach models.

Understand which barriers to cancer trial participation remain most difficult to overcome, including geography and trial centralization, and how decentralized approaches and care delivery closer to home may help close access gaps.

Explore early data from the ACTS program that reveal the volume and types of patient-reported barriers to cancer care and clinical trial participation, highlighting the critical role of support services in sustaining enrollment.

Examine how the American Cancer Society’s national ACTS expansion is designed to simplify trial discovery, reduce logistical barriers, and help patients, caregivers, and providers navigate cancer clinical trials through a centralized support model.