Breaking down barriers through patient advocacy groups.

As a patient recruitment organization, Praxis understands that there’s no silver bullet for finding our ideal clinical study participants – individuals who fulfill a clinical trial’s inclusion and exclusion criteria and represent the diverse array of people experiencing the impact of living with a particular condition.

One of the many first steps we take when developing a recruitment strategy is identifying organizations that represent and support the specific patient community for whom we are looking to enroll. Patient advocacy groups (PAGs) are often one of the foremost trusted resources, and most powerful advocates, for bringing equitable support, like clinical research opportunities, to patients.

As a protocol or campaign is being developed, PAGs can:

• Provide insights about the patient community, including barriers to health equity
• Connect with real patients through interviews or online surveys to inform pharmaceutical companies, whether it’s to more deeply understand the patient’s journey or to inform protocol development
• Provide insights and feedback for creative messaging to ensure materials are culturally appropriate and supportive of diverse populations’ needs

Once it’s time to get the word out about a specific clinical research opportunity, PAGs often provide to patients:

• General education and awareness about clinical research – building a foundation for health literacy with patients from a diverse background
• Opportunities to share information about specific research opportunities
• Relationship building with local community leaders
• Validity and trust, bridging the gap between pharmaceutical companies and patients

Relationships, like those between patients and PAGs, are at the core of successful patient recruitment efforts. While each patient’s health journey is unique, and a patient’s decision to enter a trial is deeply personal, we can begin to truly understand and connect with our ideal participants by partnering with the organizations already deeply committed to a condition or patient population.

Ready to learn more about Praxis’ toolkit for reaching and engaging with patients from all backgrounds? Let’s connect!