NIAMS ‘Spotlight on Research’: Array of Patient Recruitment Efforts Boost Back Pain Study Participation
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently interviewed Cedars-Sinai neurosurgeon Lindsey Ross, MD, for its Newsroom’s “Spotlight on Research” feature. Ross explained how Cedars-Sinai Medical Center overcame clinical trial recruitment challenges during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ross, an assistant professor of Neurosurgery and an investigator with the NIH-led Back Pain Consortium Research Program, is working to find nonaddictive treatments for chronic lower back pain. She told the NIAMS Newsroom that Cedars-Sinai researchers identified and engaged a diverse group of clinical trial patients in new ways.
The investigators used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to broaden the pool of potential participants. They used AI-powered software to scan healthcare professionals’ notes in patients’ electronic health records for references to back pain, instead of manually searching for a back pain diagnosis.
“Back pain is very prevalent, and doctors might not always list it in the problem list or ascribe it a specific diagnosis,” Ross said. “We weren’t capturing all the patients with chronic low back pain by doing searches the old way.”
Ross added that AI also helped locate Black and Latin patients to screen for clinical trial eligibility, addressing the need for more diverse participation.
And because pandemic protocols limited in-person contact, investigators studying whether virtual reality headsets can mitigate back pain mailed the headsets and instructional videos to clinical trial participants. The scientists then monitored online feedback about the effectiveness of the headsets as a treatment tool.
Ross told the NIAMS Newsroom that emails and calls to study participants helped improve the patient experience.
“We had a full and dedicated team that was constantly on the phone to make sure we stayed engaged with patients,” she said. “We wanted to be sure it wasn’t just, ‘Here’s an email. Here are the materials. Go.’”
Click here to read the complete article from the NIAMS Newsroom.