CA SE STUDY NO. 2
Continued from page 11
Results
Preliminary data from the BIDMC and Lyft Concierge partnership
are provided in the table and graph below. Data from only one
BIDMC study are provided, as recruitment for other studies was
limited during the PD-TRI study.
Discussion
Initial results provide insights into the impact of providing
transportation on clinical trial recruitment efforts:
+ + Individuals who live farther from the clinical trial site seem
more likely to accept rides, indicating that transportation
infrastructure may help clinical trial sites engage with harder
to reach populations and broaden their recruitment networks.
+ + While providing transportation may seem expensive, the
average cost per ride is $63.26. This figure is quite small in
comparison to the average total costs of a Phase III clinical
trial (between US $11.5 million [dermatology] and US $52.9
million [pain and anesthesia]). 7
+ + Coordinators spend a minimal amount of time and effort to
coordinate rides, and from the patient satisfaction surveys,
this service appears to provide a great amount of benefit to
study participants. Providing this service may help mitigate
study attrition.
+ + Although study participants indicated that they likely would
have participated in the current clinical study even without
being offered transportation, they responded very positively
to the service, with all participants reporting that the rides
made it easier for them to attend appointments. Also,
80 percent of respondents said they would be more likely
to participate in another study in the future if transportation
were provided. This indicates that providing transportation
not only helps recruitment, but also is an asset for long-term
community engagement.
+ + Third-party ride services can be used in a manner that
protects participant confidentiality.
7
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http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1740774515625964?journalCode=ctja
Accelerating Clinical Trials: Best Practices for Recruitment and Retention
Key Considerations for Sites
Contemplating Transportation
Partnerships
+ + Clinical sites seeking to establish a partnership with a
transportation service should request contractual materials
from the potential partner, share these with internal grants
administrators for review and seek IRB approval.
+ + Factor in additional time prior to study start-up for contract
negotiations and testing any software or processes
associated with the partnership.
+ + Develop detailed protocols that determine when and how
often individuals will be offered rides, and whether they
will be offered transportation for visits throughout the full
duration of the study.
+ + Create systems to evaluate your transportation service and
determine how it impacts recruitment at your site.