Patient Enrollment And Retention: Overcoming Challenges In Observational Research

By Colleen Coleman

The challenge of enrollment for observational research

Patient enrollment and retention for investigational trials are notoriously difficult. How is enrollment affected when there is no direct benefit to the patient: no breakthrough study drug with the potential to cure, no added caregiver time, no meaningful compensation for participating?

Observational studies, by design, demand a continuation of the same standard of care a patient would have received without joining the study. Incentivizing these patients to participate is a significant challenge for sponsors engaged in post-marketing or other observational studies.