Join the Conquest: Developing a Campaign to Increase Participation in Clinical Research in North Carolina

Abstract

This study addresses the national clinical trial recruitment crisis by chronicling the development of a campaign to move people toward enrollment in an online clinical research registry. The public typically encounters clinical trial information in controversies or study-specific recruitment ads, which limits full understanding. Ten focus groups were conducted with healthy and impaired persons to identify perceived benefits and barriers to participation. Altruism and self-efficacy emerged as key motivators. Three theoretically informed campaigns were developed and tested. Resulting materials have been shared with members of a National Institutes of Health-funded national consortium to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. © 2013 SAGE Publications.