Communicating study results with participants throughout the research process is vital for building trust, maintaining engagement, and improving retention in clinical trials.

Findings from the Canadian Clinical Research Participation Survey conducted by Clinical Trials British Columbia revealed a strong desire for timely and comprehensive information about the trials from participants.

Clinical Trials British Columbia has developed an online toolkit to enable researchers to better communicate study results with participants. Based on recommendations from a provincial working group of trial participants, researchers, ethics administrators, and decision makers, and survey feedback, the toolkit provides best communication practices for sharing study results in a clear, meaningful, and respectful way.

Must-watch: best practice recommendations for communicating study results

The webinar below discusses insights from the participation experience survey and best practices for communicating study results developed by the working group.

The resources below enable your organization to communicate results with the participants better. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial–Share Alike 4.0 International License. March 2020.

• One-page summary of the best practices online toolkit (PDF)

• Best Practice Recommendations full document (PDF) (10 pages) – in-depth recommendations with background, examples, and reference material

• Two-sided postcard (PDF) to assist with promotion of the toolkit*

  *A print version is available upon request

• YouTube video with URL and ability to embed in your electronic media to assist with awareness and promotion

• A “thank you” template (PPT) — helpful instructions and “plug and play” suggested wording which can be easily branded by your organization*
  *Developed by Clinical Trials Ontario and Clinical Trials British Columbia
• A “Plain-Language Result Summaries” template (PPT) — helpful instructions and suggested wording, and easily branded by your organization*
  *Developed by Clinical Trials Ontario and Clinical Trials British Columbia
• Slide deck presentation — can be modified and used for education and awareness with your researchers, patient partners or administration: coming soon
• Participation Certificate: coming soon

Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO) Participant Experience Toolkit

Through this toolkit, CTO aims to help its community in their efforts to improve clinical trial participants’ experiences. The goal is to help clinical trial participants feel informed and valued. Areas highlighted in the toolkit are those that can have a large impact on a person’s overall experience in a clinical trial.

The toolkit is meant to provide guidance, considerations and examples and references to inspire the community. While it has been developed for clinical trials, it can also be used for other types of clinical research including observational studies.