SUSTAINABILITY
“ We have to build awareness on a community level to increase participation from both patients and healthy volunteers ”
TARQUIN SCADDING-HUNT CEO , MDGROUP
“ However , these traditional methods have not yet solved the problem so it is time to get creative .”
Embrace digital health opportunities Technological advancements and the pressures of COVID-19 have seen a huge increase in decentralised clinical trials ( DCTs ) over the past couple of years .
DCTs can increase enrolment , retention and engagement among a more representative population by reducing participant burdens .
“ For example , communities in rural locations , or those living in communities with typically low incomes , are less likely to enrol in clinical trials because they do not have the time or the means to travel to a research site ”, said Scadding-Hunt . “ They are also least likely to have access to a high standard of healthcare . “ Replacing site visits with home health visits for patients , allowing them to gather data themselves through wearable technology and check-ins via video conference instead of face-to-face can all help reduce or remove the burden of time and travel .
“ The pandemic has seen these technologies adopted at a greater scale but we must not lose momentum now . We must also make sure advancements are rolled out equitably and consider how to reach communities where digital infrastructure is lacking .”
Representation throughout the research process “ Increasing diversity is not just about trial participants , but also the healthcare industry as a whole ”, said Scadding-Hunt . “ Co-founder of CliniSpan Health Rashaad Galloway was a panellist on the mdtalk diversity podcast . ‘ One of the first things that needs to happen is the inclusion of people of colour in the research process – not only as participants but as administrators and facilitators ’ Galloway said .
“ We must continue to look at how we recruit researchers and healthcare professionals to ensure we are finding the best candidates from diverse populations .”
Collect data on ethnicity “ We need to make sure all clinical trials are collecting data on ethnicity ”, said Scadding- Hunt . “ In a review of 230 oncology clinical trials taking place between 2008 – 2018 , only 145 included any information about the participant ’ s race . Of those that did , approximately 76 % of the participants were white , 18 % Black , 3 % Asian , and 6 % Hispanic .
“ Without that data we cannot see progress or whether a treatment works for everyone .
“ Between 2008 and 2013 around one in five newly approved drugs demonstrated differences in treatment response across ethnic groups . In some cases , this led to doctors prescribing drugs differently according to ethnicity .” healthcareglobal . com 99