Improving Retention in Long-Term Trials with Human-Centered Design

In a recent video interview with Applied Clinical Trials, Heather Horville, solutions consultant, Greenphire, discussed the challenges of retention and trial timelines due to increasing financial and logistical burdens on patients. Horville highlighted strategies to address these issues, such as early planning, patient advocacy, and site selection based on local needs. For complex trials, engagement through diary entries and stipends, and human interaction via concierge services will be critical. Future improvements will emphasize a comprehensive patient journey, incorporating services like travel prepayment to enhance trial success.

ACT: What are some best practices clinical operations professionals can adopt to improve participant retention across longer, complex trials?

Horville: Definitely, when we think of longer trials. First, in terms of length, there's a lot of time. We're hearing 10-15 year trials sometimes, so engagement for patients is going to be a really important factor to consider. How are we engaging with our patients? How are we motivating them to come back time and time again? We look at things like utilizing diary entries, ePRO, things to keep them engaged. At home, are we paying stipends when they complete their diaries each week to drive that retention, keeping them engaged? What we found to help with both longer and complex trials, both of those barriers, because they're different, is interaction with another human being and how important that is. We have something at Greenphire in terms of helping address that with our concierge services, that has a 95% retention rate, and that human interaction, that one to one relationship has been really, really impactful when we think of keeping them engaged. Really, that interaction with another human, that engagement and that motivation are going to be best practices there.