– Americans more intent in clinical trials amid COVID19

Majority of Americans express interest in participating in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

NORTHBROOK, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A quantitative survey conducted by Continuum Clinical in partnership with Precision Sample shows 68% of US adults diagnosed with at least one medical condition say they are more likely to consider participating in a clinical trial now than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half of respondents indicate that their awareness of clinical trials has increased as a result of news coverage of the novel coronavirus.

Continuum Clinical, a global clinical trial enrollment company, and Precision Sample, a global market research company, fielded the survey April 22 – 23. Results show clinical research interest – both for COVID-19-related trials and trials for other health conditions – has spiked dramatically in recent weeks.

“As devastating as the novel coronavirus has been to all of humankind, this is a sort of silver lining in terms of potentially propelling medical research forward,” said Continuum Clinical president Neil Weisman. “One of the biggest hurdles the industry faces in developing new therapies and bringing them to market is patients’ lack of awareness, understanding, and willingness to participate in clinical trials. Increased participation will translate directly into improved therapies and increased healthcare options across the globe.”

Interest in clinical trial participation overall increased most dramatically among men and older millennials in particular, with men and Black/African Americans indicating the largest jump in awareness of medical research.

Continuum Clinical’s Integrated Media analysts have confirmed the trend extends to online search behavior, with the number of Americans actively searching for “clinical trials” more than doubling in the past 4 months. Since February, proprietary Continuum Clinical data shows patient engagement has increased by an average of 80% across the actively recruiting clinical trial programs it supports.

“Real world patient behavior confirms these important survey results,” said Continuum Clinical vice president of data and analytics Paul Ivsin. “Our real time data shows that patients aren’t just more aware and more interested in participating in clinical trials, they are actively seeking out trial information on their own.”

Of those respondents who reported increased interest in clinical trials, nearly all pointed to a greater sense of altruism as the reason for their increased motivation to participate in medical research. And when asked about their interest in participating in research related to the current pandemic, a majority of Americans (60%) expressed interest in participating in a COVID-19 vaccine trial.

“Attitudinal research during the past two decades has consistently shown that altruism is a primary reason why patients choose to participate in clinical research,” said Ken Getz, Professor at Tufts CSDD and founder of CISCRP. “The shared sense of community and caring during this pandemic may be increasing altruistic motivations to participate.”

In an effort to continue monitoring the impact COVID-19 has on clinical research, including identifying emerging trends, Continuum Clinical said it will continue to publish data frequently as the situation unfolds, providing real-time updates as they become available.