Social media has a great potential to reveal clinical trial issues, address enrollment barriers, and engage patient groups necessary in clinical research. CROs like Veristat and clinical trial leaders use it to engage patients and increase participation and retention. This article unearths the easiest methods to leverage social media in trial planning. You will discover little-known ways of using social media to increase patient participation and retention in your trial.
Use social media to recruit clinical trial patients
Social media is a gold mine for clinical trials to source eligible patients. You can advertise your research without spamming people who are not interested, making social media more effective than using mass mailing. Additionally, social media has over 4 billion people using it today and the number is expected to reach six billion in 2027. This provides a large pool of potential patients you can target and recruit when doing your clinical trial planning. Advertise your clinical trial on a social platform where your target patient population congregates. Facebook is one of the most effective platforms to recruit patients as it is the world’s largest social media site. our social ads should be compelling and include contact information people can use to reach you. When potential participants reach out, use screening questions to determine if they are eligible for the trial.
Leverage online patient communities on social media
An online patient community is a networked advocacy and support group you can leverage to increase patient participation and engagement in your trial. You can answer health questions in the community to establish your organization as an expert and engage with a patient population. You can also share links to your clinical trials where interested patients can enroll. An online community for patients with Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) resulted in the members suggesting a clinical study to a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. The cardiologist listened and engaged with the rare patient population. This patient-researcher engagement and collaboration could work for your trial as well. Online patient communities include Facebook patient groups where people meet to learn about each other’s experiences with the disease. It could also be specialized forums like PatientsLikeMe and Smart Patients.
Use social media to educate and initiate meaningful discussions
Educating a patient population on social media can help you overcome common barriers in clinical trials. For example, today’s clinical trial participants are empowered, engaged, equipped, and enabled by the raging river of information on the internet. They want to learn more to make informed decisions before enrolling in clinical trials. The aim is to initiate a conversation among potential participants that leads to engaging discussions you can use to optimize your clinical trial design. On top of that, use social media to educate patients about the importance of new clinical trials. In your social posts, use common hashtags that patients are likely to use when searching for the content you are sharing. For example, a pharmaceutical company targeting myeloma patients can use #mmsm tags on its social posts. A clinical trial that targets breast cancer patients can use #bcsm on their education posts on social media.
Using social media for more effective trials is easy. What’s more, researchers can use it to educate, engage, and recruit eligible patients. Thus, ensuring the successful completion of clinical trials.