While there are certain set criteria that exclude patients from participating in clinical trials, and many times researchers themselves have parameters, it’s also important to look at the flip side.
For a clinical trial to be truly successful, it needs a comprehensive EDC software program and a concerted effort to carry out inclusive and ethical research.
Here are some applicable strategies worth using:
Identify the biggest barriers to participation and address them
Before making any type of decision regarding your policies and practices, identify the biggest barriers standing in the way of your participants. Does their gender play a role in their participation? Do they have limited mobility and accessibility? Fortunately, using an eCRF software program will eliminate many of these hurdles for them and improve inclusion.
Align your eligibility criteria to be more diverse and inclusive
Once you better understand historical factors affecting participation, you can align eligibility criteria for more inclusive and ethical research. If there’s no need for their exclusion, and they stand to benefit from the product or medication, make an active effort to include minority groups. Women, elderly folk, gender minorities, ethnically diverse individuals, and physically or cognitively disabled individuals should all be considered.
Ethically evaluate the measures you’re taking to protect participants
However, there must be considerable, effective protection for your participants too. These protections can take on many forms, from solutions for side effects to complete informed consent, complete privacy and confidentiality, and no tolerance for any kind of bias.
Compensate participants fairly and generously, especially for additional costs
If you truly want to design an inclusive and ethical research study, you need to focus on fair compensation.
The average pay for participation is just over $3000, but you have the ability to adjust that depending on your own study. Give your participants generous compensation, especially if they will be paying for additional costs like commuting and medical bills. This will not only encourage more people to participate but also help them feel more at ease.
There’s a lot that can be done to improve inclusivity and ethical compliance during clinical research, regardless of scale.
Researchers and investigators must learn to conduct inclusive and ethical research that focuses on diversification, representation, and accuracy. Use our electronic consent software and patient registry program to streamline and simplify the recruitment process, including patients from a variety of backgrounds. We’ve developed tools to make your study faster and more efficient, and you can start a free demo today!
