Clinical trials create opportunities for patients to access groundbreaking, and potentially lifesaving, cancer treatments before they reach the market. However, clinical trial participation continues to be an issue, with only 5% of cancer patients participating in clinical trials. Helping healthcare teams become more mindful of all current options and promoting trials to their patients could increase enrollment. One non-profit organization, TransCelerate BioPharma, is working to address this issue, Oncology Nursing News reports.1
“One Person Closer” is a photojournalist campaign aiming to show doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers that they can facilitate research that advances science and potentially benefit patients.
Joseph Kim, senior advisor of clinical innovation at Eli Lilly and Company and Clinical Research Awareness Campaign lead for TransCelerate’s Clinical Research Awareness initiative, offers insight into the campaign. “Whether it’s patients, physicians, biopharma companies, or regulators, we all want new medicines that work and are supported with good date… However, it can take way too long to execute research, in large part because not enough people are participating in clinical trials or aware of them. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers are important intermediaries here who can help us overcome this critical challenge by incorporating the topic of research into their daily practice.”1
Approximately 58 million participants are needed to meet the demands of enrolling studies currently on ClinicalTrials.gov, TransCelerate BioPharma estimates. However, 20% of research sites fail to enroll even a single patient.1
The One Step Closer campaign provided a variety of online outlets for healthcare providers to get involved. Learn more about the campaign on the One Person Closer page on Facebook.
Advertising for the recruitment of research subjects is considered the beginning of the informed consent process. As such, patient recruitment materials and advertising require IRB review and approval before being posted. Learn more about how our AAHRPP accredited central IRB, Pearl IRB, can assist with your patient recruitment efforts.