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Motivators for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial participation

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research volume 30, pages 209–212 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research progress is impeded due to participant recruitment challenges. This study seeks to better understand, from the perspective of individuals engaged in clinical trials (CTs), research motivations.

Methods

Participants, or their caregivers, from AD treatment and prevention CTs were surveyed about research motivators.

Results

The 87 respondents had a mean age of 72.2, were predominantly Caucasian, 55.2% were male, and 56.3% had cognitive impairment. An overwhelming majority rated the potential to help themselves or a loved one and the potential to help others in the future as important motivators. Relatively few respondents were motivated by free healthcare, monetary rewards, or to make others happy.

Conclusions

Recruitment efforts should focus on the potential benefit for the individual, their loved ones, and others in the future rather than free healthcare or monetary rewards.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all study participants and study partners who participate in research at our site and across the globe and particularly thank those who took the time to complete this survey.

Author contributions

SHB analyzed the data and wrote the paper. SDH and GAJ planned the study, provided insights into analysis, and contributed to revising the paper.

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Affiliations

  1. Graduate Center for Gerontology, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Shoshana H. Bardach

  2. Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Shoshana H. Bardach & Gregory A. Jicha

  3. University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Sarah D. Holmes

  4. Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Gregory A. Jicha

Authors
  1. Shoshana H. Bardach
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  2. Sarah D. Holmes
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  3. Gregory A. Jicha
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shoshana H. Bardach.

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Funding

The authors have no funding to acknowledge for this research.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Data availability

The data sets during and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Bardach, S.H., Holmes, S.D. & Jicha, G.A. Motivators for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial participation. Aging Clin Exp Res 30, 209–212 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-017-0771-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-017-0771-2

Keywords

  • Clinical trials
  • Motivation
  • Recruitment