Patient Burden
What is patient burden?
Patient burden is the negative load that patients withstand by being a part of a clinical trial. This may include the pain or side effects of treatment, or factors related to being in the clinical trial itself, such as a lack of knowledge about what to expect or the time it takes them to travel to and from the clinical trial site.
The elements that make up patient burden include:
- Anxiety
- Pain
- Harmful exposure
- Invasiveness
- Time
- Hospitalization
Why should clinical trials lower patient burden?
The greater the patient burden, the less likely a patient is to complete a clinical trial, severely affecting the retention rate of a clinical trial. Since holding onto trial participants is one of the greatest challenges in a clinical trial, lowering patient burden is a crucial way to ensure participants are more likely to see the trial through to completion.
Some ways in which clinical trials can lower patient burden are:
- Using patient feedback to modify the patient experience
- Offering personalized services and support
- Engaging patients and caregivers
- Answering questions
- Arranging transportation
- Providing ongoing guidance and support
- Offering home health options