Recruiting underserved populations into clinical trials with customizable media

Health Communication Impact, Llc, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Racial and ethnic minorities, older adults and those from rural communities continue to be underrepresented in cancer and other clinical trials research, despite annual spending on patient recruitment in excess of $1 billion. While many individual studies have demonstrated that targeted outreach and education to underrepresented patients and engagement of front line providers in community hospitals can help boost participation in clinical trials, few of these strategies have evolved into scalable systems that cn support recruitment efforts across many organizations simultaneously with demonstrated efficacy. MIYO (Make It Your Own) is an online tool that addresses this challenge. MIYO helps healthcare organizations develop and use professional quality recruitment materials to increase research participation among underrepresented groups. In minutes, organizations can create their own versions of audience- tested small media for the specific patients they serve by choosing from a menu of approaches recommended by the Guide to Community Preventive Services, then customizing them by choosing from a library of images, messages and graphic designs. Creations can be printed, e- mailed, texted, used online or distributed in other ways to target audiences. In a wide range of Phase I equivalent studies, MIYO has been used to promote HPV vaccination, use of tobacco quit lines, colorectal cancer screening, and use of clinical trials recruitment materials. Findings from this research shows that MIYO is well liked and easy to use; helpful in designing outreach and education products that are targeted for vulnerable population sub-groups, and effective in increasing audience responses like a calling 1-800-4-CANCER. The proposed Direct to Phase II study will expand the Clinical Trials Participation module in MIYO and evaluate its effectiveness in getting patients to enter Pioneers, a research recruitment registry. In partnership with the Midwest Cancer Alliance, we will randomize its 22 community hospital and health center members to either an active MIYO condition or delayed use control, and compare rates of enrollment overall and in priority sub-groups 12 months pre- and post-implementation of MIYO. Increased and more diverse participation in clinical trials will improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, and elp eliminate cancer health disparities in the U.S. population.