A bilingual, Internet-based, targeted advertising campaign for prostate cancer clinical trials: Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel recruitment strategy

Celia P Kaplan; Adam Siegel; Yan Leykin; Nynikka R Palmer; Hala Borno; Jessica Bielenberg; Jennifer Livaudais-Toman; Charles Ryan; Eric J Small

doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2018.08.005

A bilingual, Internet-based, targeted advertising campaign for prostate cancer clinical trials: Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel recruitment strategy

Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2018 Aug 15:12:60-67. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2018.08.005. eCollection 2018 Dec.

Authors

Celia P Kaplan^{1

2}, Adam Siegel³, Yan Leykin^{4

5}, Nynikka R Palmer^{2

6}, Hala Borno^{2

7}, Jessica Bielenberg⁸, Jennifer Livaudais-Toman¹, Charles Ryan⁹, Eric J Small^{2

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
² Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
³ Aurora Health Center St Luke's Hospital, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
⁵ PhD Clinical Psychology Program, Palo Alto University, USA.
⁶ Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
⁷ Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
⁸ NORC at the University of Chicago, USA.
⁹ Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant, University of Minnesota, USA.

Abstract

Background: To address limitations in recruitment and enrollment of diverse, low-literacy patients into prostate cancer clinical trials, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an English and Spanish, Internet-based, multilevel recruitment intervention.

Methods: Intervention components included (1) a low-literacy, bilingual, automated, Internet-based clinical trial matching tool; (2) a bilingual nurse who assisted individuals with questions and enrollment; and (3) a targeted, Internet-based advertising campaign. We evaluated (a) completion of matching tool, (b) expression of interest in a clinical trial, (c) number of patients who matched to clinical trials at a single institution, (d) discussion of risks and benefits of clinical trials (via follow-up interviews), and (e) effect of the advertising on completing the matching tool. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary estimates of efficacy were measured through user engagement with the matching tool and subsequent qualitative interviews with these same users.

Results: During the 28-week study period, 523 users provided demographic information, 263 were identified with prostate cancer, 192 (73%) matched to at least one clinical trial, and 29 (15.1%) of those who matched provided contact information. During the study period, 17 prostate cancer clinical trials were available for matching. We completed follow-up interviews with 14 of the 29 men who provided contact information. Of the 14, 85.7% discussed the risks and benefits of clinical trials with their physician, and 35.7% enrolled in a clinical trial. The Internet-based advertising campaign resulted in an increased number of matching tool completions.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that an Internet-based clinical trial matching tool that is advertised using a targeted Internet-based campaign can provide an effective means to reach diverse, low-literacy patients. When implemented at scale and over a longer duration, such interventions may help increase trial participation among underrepresented populations.

Keywords: Clinical trials participation; Internet recruitment; Prostate cancer; Underserved populations.

Abstract

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