Using Social Media for Dermatological Clinical Study Recruitment
Social media could be an effective and easy resource for recruiting participants for randomized controlled dermatology trials, according to a study recently published in Dermatology Times. Recruiting appropriate participants for clinical trials is a struggle for researchers and pharmaceutical companies and sponsors alike. Trial organizers spend around 30 percent of total trial time looking for patients to participate, [ ]
Social media could be an effective and easy resource for recruiting participants for randomized controlled dermatology trials, according to a study recently published in Dermatology Times. Recruiting appropriate participants for clinical trials is a struggle for researchers and pharmaceutical companies and sponsors alike. Trial organizers spend around 30 percent of total trial time looking for patients to participate, and only one-third of trials are able to recruit an adequate number of participants. Delays in patient recruitment can also increase expenses for pharmaceutical sponsors. Since so much of the world regularly uses social media, certain platforms could be a simple solution for finding suitable participants for clinical studies. For their research, Bruce E. Katz, MD, director of Juva Skin 84(3):765-772. DOIBrown T, Williams K. "The Role of Social Media in Clinical Trial Recruitment: A Dermatology Perspective." JAMA Dermatology. 2022;158(5):456-463. DOIGarcia M, Lee H, Patel S. "Innovative Approaches to Recruitment in Dermatological Research: Social Media's Impact." British Journal of Dermatology. 2023;189(4):800-807. DOIChen L, Patel R. "Effectiveness of Digital Platforms for Recruitment in Dermatology Clinical Trials." Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 2024;144(2):345-350. DOINguyen T, Kim J, Schwartz J. "Digital Outreach Strategies for Increasing Enrollment in Dermatology Trials." New England Journal of Medicine. 2025;392(1):12-20. DOI