Patient retention in clinical trials
With only limited numbers of patients available to take part in clinical trials for rare disease treatments it’s crucial to help those who take part stay involved.
Studies show that almost one in five participants of randomised trials withdraw for some reason. The most common factors that lead people to stop being involved are:
Personal or family circumstances
Financial constraints
Conditions not improving
Location of trials
Side effects of treatments
When surveyed about their experiences of clinical trials, 38 per cent of patients who withdrew said that attending site visits was stressful, compared to just 16 per cent of those who completed their trial.
An audit of five clinical trials for which we offered specialist support, involving 166 patients across 51 sites, showed that the withdrawal rate was lower than that reported in the literature.
Making it easier to take part in clinical trials and improving patients’ experience helps to improve retention rates and strengthens the outcomes from rare disease studies.
“Taking part in a clinical trial can be stressful for patients and their families, but travelling to the clinical trial site and managing expenses does not have to be. We take care of their travel needs and reimbursement.”
Benedicta Marshall-Andrew
HEAD OF CLINICAL TRIAL SUPPORT TEAM
