February 19, 2019 | ORLANDO—CISCRP was named winner last night in the third annual Participant Engagement Awards held during the 2019 Summit for Clinical Ops Executives (SCOPE). The group’s entry, The Journey to Better Health Campaign, took top honors after a live presentation and audience judging.

Thanks to poor weather in Boston, the CISCRP team was not in Orlando last night to present its entry in person, but Ellyn Getz sent in an audio file describing her team’s initiative. CISCRP built an called Journey to Better Health, equipped with interactive tools, healthcare information and relevant resources, exclusive study data, and knowledgeable experts in the clinical research field. With support from Janssen Research & Development, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and Wondros, CISCRP piloted this traveling, interactive experience in Los Angeles in May 2018. In 2019, the team hopes to bring the RV to 10 additional cities.

Two other finalist entries were named runners up. The second runner up award went to Langland, Insync, and Janssen, which collaborated on proprietary research to probe deeply into emotional, culturally specific patterns of perceptions, collective beliefs and aspirations that act as either motivators or barriers to recruitment and retention. The first runner up was Bristol-Myers Squibb’s entry, BMS Study Connect (www.BMSStudyConnect.com), a comprehensive clinical trial resource for patients and caregivers to learn about and find clinical trials, and connect with others. Study Connect is available in 14 countries both in English and local language with 3 additional EU countries launching shortly.

During the live finalist presentations, the SCOPE audience voted, and chose the same top three entries. It was purely a coincidence, the SCOPE judges told Clinical Research News, reflecting a consensus among the community

#BeLikeJerry

The Participant Engagement Award highlights creative work across the clinical research industry that helps better engage and understand research participants. The awards program is dedicated to the memory of Jerry Matczak, an advocate for patients, who won the first Participant Engagement Award in 2017.

The judges welcomed submissions from every aspect of the industry including sites, CROs, e-patient advisors, agencies, start-ups, and sponsors. All were invited to submit their best work in the Patient Recruitment and Retention communications field.

David Sall, President of Patient Enrollment Advisors, and Kelly McKee, Head of Patient Recruitment at Vertex, created the Participant Engagement Award in 2017. In addition to Sall and McKee, entries were evaluated this year by Angela Radcliffe, R&D Practice Lead, Life Science, CapGemini Invent; Shwen Gwee, General Manager, Digital Accelerator, Novartis; David Fuehrer, CEO, GRYT Health, two-time cancer survivor; Joseph Kim, MBA, Senior Advisor, Patient Experience and Design Innovation, Eli Lilly; and Micah Lieberman, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI).

Over the past three years, judges have seen entries ranging from high tech to low tech, targeting patient communities as well as the public in general, Sall told Clinical Research News. The 2017 winning project was a BuzzFeed article written by the Lilly TrialGuide team and designed to raise broad awareness of clinical trials. The 2018 winner was Clara Health, for their Breakthrough Crew, a grassroots effort to reach patient populations specifically.

Additional 2019 Finalists

DigiHUMAN Clinical from Data Cubed

Science Meets Gaming for Patient-Centric Clinical Engagement

The "DigiHUMAN Clinical" app is a next generation patient engagement and data capture solution using gamified mechanics and rewards-driven behavior to increase participation and improve retention. The app is visually engaging with bright illustrations and rich interactions to help reduce the clinical nature of traditionally boring activities, and injecting a little fun into capturing clinical assessments, diaries, and cognitive tasks.

Biogen, H.E.A.L and IQVIA

Starting at the Grassroots to Increase Diversity in Clinical Trial Populations

Biogen and H.E.A.L developed simple, cost effective and engaging educational seminars tailored to African American (AA) congregations to break down barriers (e.g., lack of awareness; feelings of mistrust towards medical research; and access to trial sites) effecting AA clinical trial participation. With support from local AA Baptist churches and clinical trial investigators in Atlanta Georgia, over 300 AA participants attended two educational seminars targeted at raising awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and clinical trial opportunities. This event was conducted in three parts: 1. A Congregational Health Awareness Survey was independently conducted prior to the seminars by the church and HEAL, (e.g., results showed congregation had an interest/concerns about AD); 2. An educational seminar was scheduled with interested members of the congregation (logistical support provided by IQVIA). The first session, led by HEAL, aimed to demystify Clinical Research; while a second session led by medical doctor/clinical trial investigator from the community provided specific AD, clinical trial awareness. 3. At the end of the educational seminar the participants were polled by HEAL, including their potential interest in clinical trial participation.