CA SE STUDY NO. 2
Breaking Down
Transportation Barriers to
Research Participation
Background
In January 2017, The Michael J. Fox Foundation launched a
survey to assess the need for transportation infrastructure
at clinical trial sites. Using Fox Trial Finder, MJFF’s online
clinical trial matching tool, 843 clinical trial sites in the
U.S. were contacted to understand how transportation
access impacts participant recruitment, and what kind
of transportation participants would find most helpful.
Of the 49 sites that responded, 95 percent reported that
transportation infrastructure would improve recruitment
efforts, and 63 percent felt it would ensure all studies recruited
on time. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported that
a taxi, livery or ride-sharing service partnership would be the
preferred transportation infrastructure.
Data from the survey was used to inform the design of
a transportation intervention that is being tested via the
Parkinson’s Disease Trial Recruitment Innovation (PD-TRI)
project. PD-TRI is an MJFF-funded pilot study aimed at
reducing barriers and enhancing facilitators to clinical
trial recruitment.
Methods
Sample
To participate in PD-TRI, project sites had to be based in
the U.S., be geographically diverse and have large clinical
research portfolios. One of the three selected sites, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, MA, elected
to implement a partnership with the ride-sharing service Lyft
Concierge.* The study principal investigators, Samuel Frank,
MD and David K. Simon, MD, PhD, felt that providing round-trip
transportation to research appointments would alleviate stress
and logistical challenges for study participants (e.g., finding
parking, relying on a care partner for transportation, traveling
long distances).
Table 1. Distance, Cost, and Time Spent on Lyft Concierge Rides (n = 7)
Minimum Median Maximum Average
$28.54 $72.15 $234.08 $126.52
Distance traveled
(miles) 6 40 157 67
Coordinator time
spent arranging rides
(minutes) 2 5 15 7
Round-trip cost
*https://www.lyft.com/business/patients
10
Accelerating Clinical Trials: Best Practices for Recruitment and Retention