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Novel recruitment models will drive Alzheimer's trial success
Author(s) -
Vidoni Eric D.,
Bothwell Rebecca J.,
Burns Jeffrey M.,
Dwyer John R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2017.10.004
Subject(s) - center (category theory) , library science , gerontology , medicine , computer science , crystallography , chemistry
The rising number of individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [1,2] is accelerating efforts to develop effective treatment and prevention approaches as policy makers, clinical researchers, drug developers, and other stakeholders fully recognize the scope of the problem. This increasing prioritization of AD-related research requires new recruitment efforts and clinical trial infrastructure tomeet the changing scale of AD therapeutic development efforts. As recently identified by Fargo et al. in this journal, recruiting adequate numbers of qualified volunteer participants efficiently is among the biggest challenges facing AD investigators [3]. The pace of recruitment into trials directly impacts the cost of trials and their time to completion [4,5]. To accelerate enrollment, the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center (KU ADC) and the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation [5] have created a novel recruitment model that (1) invests in extensive communitybased efforts to promote research participation and (2) develops a centralized and integrated Recruitment Operations program. Herewe focus on the latter effort. Rather than tasking study coordinators, already burdened with the demands of coordinating the trial, with identifying and prescreening potential participants, we created a centralized, dedicated team led by our KU ADC Outreach and Recruitment Core leader and staffed by a lead recruitment coordinator and two recruitment specialists (4 individuals total).The teamsupports recruitment andprescreening operations, similar to recruitment efforts at many contract research organizations. Importantly, these positions are replicable, allowing for additional scale as needed. TheRecruitmentOperations teamhandles all inquiries into research with a strong focus on “customer service”. We have committed to returning calls in less than 48 business hours, warm transfer of misdirected phone calls, compassionate engagement with prospective participants that includes referral to resources beyond research participation, and consistent contact with Recruitment Operations’ staff throughout the screening process. We also emphasize continued engagement and offer regular educational opportunities, newsletters, support groups, an active socialmedia pres-