How to Engage Patients with Lionbridge

From start to finish, Lionbridge supports researchers and health care providers studying an untold number of conditions and treatments. Our services are focused around four key areas: eConsent, eLearning, patient reported outcomes and digitalization and virtualization.

eConsent 

Engaging participants in a research study starts from the moment of first contact. Your goal should be a well-informed patient participant who feels confident. They should understand:

• what the trial comprises
• where and when they will take part
• what their responsibilities are as patients
• any possible benefits and potential harm that could result from their participation. 

This education begins during recruitment. Using non-industry specific terms in the language of your target audience and in the appropriate formality will lead to an increased likelihood of successful first contacts.  

Helping patients understand the trial is a regulatory requirement. But even if it weren’t, it’s still in the best interest of everyone involved to have participants that understand the study. Participants who understand the complexity of their commitment are more likely to complete the required course of data reporting or treatment and are less likely to drop out of a particular study. 

eLearning

Once participants have agreed to take part, further education can keep them engaged and improve data collection. eLearning for clinical trial patients should be memorable and easy-to-understand, which of course means it should be presented in their first language.  

A major advantage of eLearning over traditional paper information packets is a decreased likelihood that partipicants will lose the education pieces. Additionally, a digital format simplifies the process of revisiting instructions. This can be especially useful in longitudinal studies with long increments between the data collection.  

For more on our eLearning offerings, check out this service hub.

eCOA, including Patient Reported Outcomes 

Once security and privacy issues are out of the way, electronic data collection is often safer and more reliable than traditional paper forms. It also lends itself to faster updating, which means you can learn more from your participants as you move from one study to the next. 

Because patient reported outcomes are irreplaceable as part of eCOA, patient centricity is especially important here. Leaving an option for a free response can be surprisingly informative. 

Including patient input during the creation of questionnaires increases the quality of data capture and the participant experience. Many countries and regions have groups dedicated to improving the patient experience by educating clinical research organizations (CROs). Take advantage of these opportunities and improve your scientific work for everyone involved.  

Digitalization and Virtualization

As COVID-19 has shown, when needed, many trials can switch to largely remote participation. This expands the potential participant group geographically as well as demographically. By running a trial with a virtual option, CROs offer patients increased flexibility. As with understanding and ease of use, convenience factors heavily into patient participant retention and maintenance of any medical regimen. 

Getting in touch

There are plenty of other ways to improve patient engagement in the clinical trial pipeline, but these are all starting points. They’re also all within Lionbridge’s expertise. Reach out to us today and see how we can help improve your clinical trial process.