ASK US series: Strategies for participant recruitment and retention in clinical trials

Question: How can research teams overcome challenges in participant recruitment and retention in clinical trials?

 

In recognition of this year’s International Clinical Trials Day (#ICTD2023), Clinical Trials BC will host a special episode of ASK US series, where we will discuss recruiting and retention challenges for clinical trials and share tips and best practices to address them. Our guests will bring their diverse experience to the conversation and provide valuable insights on how you can increase awareness amongst participants and researchers through storytelling and maintain relationships with study participants.

 

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate ICTD with us and learn and connect with other community members.

 

Guests:

Linda Warner, MSN, CCRP

Instructor, UBC School of Nursing

Patient and Family Engagement Advisory, BC Children’s Knowledge Network

Linda is currently finishing her MSN candidacy at the UBC School of Nursing. She has specialized in Pediatrics with a background at BCCH both in clinical research and practice. Linda was most recently a coordinator for the CHILD Cohort Study at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and is proud of helping achieve over 90% retention rate for participants after their first decade of involvement. Linda is also a committee member for N2 Canada and REACH BC.  

 

Linda is extremely passionate about sharing strategies for recruitment and retention, meaningful knowledge translation and patient engagement. She has been a public speaker and moderator on these topics, and is always advocating for the importance of parent and child participants as equal partners in research.  In her spare time, Linda likes to travel and volunteer internationally, and has supported projects in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Tanzania and Mexico. Linda has won several awards for Poster presentations and recently received the 2020 BC Health Care Hero Award.

 

Melanie Reid

Patient partner

 

Melanie is an enthusiastic volunteer for REACH BC and a committed member of the Patient Voices network. As a patient partner, she actively contributes to a wide range of research projects, clinical trials, and health education initiatives. Her areas of interest revolve around advocating for increased support in health research, with a particular focus on brain health, transplantation, and education. Melanie strongly believes in the power of partnerships in research initiatives to enhance patient outcomes and public health. Her family are Treaty 6 members of Muskeg Lake, Cree Nation.

Melanie is also a member of the Clinical Trials BC advisory council.

 

Shairy Sifat

Research nurse coordinator

UBC Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre

 

Shairy is a Registered Nurse with a focus on geriatric nursing in both clinical practice and research. She currently holds the position of Research Nurse Coordinator at the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre at UBC, where she specializes in PET imaging with the Parkinson’s Disease population. Shairy oversees several studies that center on brain health, exercise, and function in PD and imaging.

As a research coordinator, Shairy’s primary responsibilities include participant recruitment and retention, particularly in the area of mild cognitive impairment. She has developed unique strategies for approaching patients and is eager to share her insights with others. Shairy is passionate about her work and is dedicated to advancing the field of geriatric nursing and improving the lives of her patients.

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Hosts:

Stef Cheah (Host)

Program manager, REACH BC

 

Aisling Quigley (Host)

Marketing & communications specialist, REACH BC