PURPOSE: This session will discuss opportunities and challenges to recruiting patient preference study participants in alternative ways to ensure a high-quality sample in a fit-for-purpose study.
DESCRIPTION: Patient preference studies were historically used in market research and post-launch settings. Online market research panels provide a source of cost-effective and time-efficient recruitment for preference studies; however, these widely used online panels incur barriers such as difficulty obtaining medical information and physician-confirmed diagnoses, and potentially lower data quality (e.g., speeding, bot, etc.). As patient preference studies are increasingly used earlier in the medical product development lifecycle for industry, regulatory, and payer decision-making, recruitment and data quality are coming under increased scrutiny from health authorities. Preference researchers increasingly seek to gather confirmation of diagnoses and other medical information, ensure data quality, and recruit more narrowly-defined and/or more representative samples. This raises questions about what alternatives exist to online market research panels and how to design the most adequate recruitment approach. The session will start with introducing different modes of recruitment, including examples from regulatory on collecting a robust sample for a fit-for-purpose preference study (8 minutes, Bozzi). Then, a case example regarding a real-world evidence registry for patients with Irritable Bowel Disease will be shown (14 minutes, Johnson). The panel will continue with examples of partnering with patient advocacy organizations to recruit study samples (14 minutes, Poulos). Afterwards, there will be detailed discussions about considerations for recruitment from a clinical trial for a regulatory patient preference study (14 minutes, Heidenreich). Lastly, an interactive discussion with audience participation on potential barriers for a fit-for-purpose study and questions on different recruitment options (10 minutes).
