Most Patients Learn About A Trial Online, But Is That What They Want?

By Annick de Bruin, Chief Research and Insights Officer, Research Services and Shalome Sine, MPH, Senior Manager and Quantitative Insights Specialist, CISCRP

Sponsors, sites, and CROs routinely invest heavily in patient recruitment initiatives, with many outreach strategies focusing on traditional advertisements and social media campaigns. Despite these investments, recruitment challenges persist.

And, in fact, while most patients continue to report learning about clinical trial opportunities through online channels and advertisements, they overwhelmingly prefer to learn about clinical research from trusted healthcare professionals, particularly their own physicians. These findings from CISCRP’s latest Perceptions & Insights Study illustrate a growing gap in actual and preferred patient recruitment pathways — highlighting an opportunity to build recruitment processes that directly respond to patient needs and preferences.