Dating Apps And Clinical Research

By Amber Blackmon, Senior Clinical Trial Lead, Health Decisions

If you want to attract young, sexually-active men and women to a clinical trial, try Tinder. It may sound like a glib suggestion, but social media advertising – and ads on Tinder in particular – has proven to be a surprisingly effective and cost-efficient way to capture the attention of a younger demographic. It’s one of the many trends that are reshaping the clinical trial recruiting environment as pharma companies and CROs look for innovative ways to cut time, cost and risk from the recruiting process. 

Attracting participants to clinical trials has always been an uphill battle. One 2015 study found 19% of trials were closed or terminated early because they could not accrue enough participants. As the research landscape gets increasingly crowded, competition for patients means these numbers are likely to rise. This is pushing many trial recruiters to rethink long–held assumptions about the best approach to recruiting, and to adapt their methods and messages accordingly.