Fts2‐02‐03: new nih policies on inclusion: implications for alzheimer's clinical study recruitment and tools to help

Recruiting volunteer participants has been a major, persistent bottleneck in conducting all types of clinical studies. Alzheimer's and related dementias clinical trials face a unique set of challenges to recruitment. As the pace of research has accelerated and the number of clinical trials is expected to grow dramatically, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at NIH, with facilitation by the Alzheimer's Association, has sought to break these barriers, convening a wide range of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive National Strategy for Recruitment and Participation in Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Research. The strategy seeks to engage broad segments of the public in the Alzheimer's and related dementias research enterprise, with a particular focus on underrepresented communities, to successfully and more quickly enroll and retain individuals in studies to better understand, treat and eventually prevent these disorders. Experts from academia, communications, advocacy, and clinical care and research, assessed recruitment and retention challenges and opportunities from both the national and local perspectives, and recommended actions needed to enhance messaging, partnering, building study site capacity and other opportunities, emphasizing infrastructure and relationships at the community level. As part of the development process, NIA solicited public comment and feedback via an online crowdsourcing platform, which was then incorporated into the strategy. Based on the recommendations outlined in the strategy, implementation planning and activities are underway.