Patient Recruitment and Retention in Clinical Trials with Social Media
Many people spend quality time on social media.
Results of health-related researches highlight that 17% of the world population
uses Facebook to get information on health. Likewise, 15% make use of YouTube,
while 6% refer to Twitter.
It is worthy of note that not many medical
practitioners and researchers showcase their clinical trials on these social
media. We should highlight the importance of social media on clinical trials
and how it has impacted positively on patient recruitment and retention.
Different patients employ the use of social
media for various reasons. For example, some of them use social media to make
decisions on healthcare.
Furthermore, it is common to come across social
media users who use social media to make their doctor choice or seek a
reputable hospital to visit. Even more, most of the youths that were surveyed
feel information shared on social media as regards clinical trials is authentic. People reading reviews on social
media form a bulk of social media users.
Now to the specifics, a whopping 8% (whopping
because it wasn’t a common practice before) find various medical opportunities
on social media. Even more, some of them seek clinical trial opportunities on
social media.
To understand why social media is a great
choice, read this. Apps like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram command a broad
base of users. Many health establishments seek to increase the number of
patients’ enrolment by using social media to make promoted posts. These
platforms have features for ads, and they target different people. For example,
if an establishment is targeting a particular age group, the demographics for
the ads will align with the age.
At the time of writing this post, about 11% of
clinical trials in North America employ the use of social media communications.
With the advancement, it’s expected that the numbers will skyrocket in a few
years.
It is necessary to establish the fact that
making advertisements on social media is more affordable than advertising on
television and radio. Furthermore, it’s the best way to target young people who
form a crux of clinical trials.
Clinical trials are not limited to the young
ones; aged people are likewise involved in clinical trials. Social media is a
great way to target them too. Most aged people use Facebook. It means that
healthcare agencies that are targeting the aged for clinical trials will most
likely use Facebook.
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