How do researchers recruit people for clinical trials?

Researchers use various methods to recruit participants for their studies. They promote the trials through social media, mail drops, and websites.

Sometimes, they establish partnerships with local general practitioners (GPs) to access their patient databases and identify individuals who meet specific criteria. The GPs then approach these patients to inform them about the trial.

In some cases, researchers receive referrals directly from hospitals for potential participants.

The process may vary if a hospital is conducting its own trial, as they directly approach their patients to invite them to participate in the study. If a hospital conducts numerous studies, they may be less inclined to refer their patients to outside researchers.

As a research organisation separate from the NHS, we do not directly contact patients; instead, patients must initiate contact with us first. Identifying suitable candidates is complicated by ethical considerations and conflicting studies.

For instance, if a hospital is conducting a study, they also consider other studies that may be in competition with theirs. As a researcher, I will not be able to conduct a study that competes with any other studies I am involved in.

The answer is provided by Karen Faulkner,

Senior Research Physician  at Synexus Clinical Research Ltd