During my years of leading health research participant recruitment process, one of the most common questions I have been asked is: “How do you enable electronic consent for health research?” After recruiting a large healthcare partner, I witnessed eConsent and its ability to inspire more participants.
Surprisingly, many research organizations still underutilize eConsent because its impact is so beneficial to participants. eConsent provides an efficient and simplified way for organizations to obtain consent from study participants. Removing this barrier will help increase participation and expand the range of potential participants.
Let’s look at seven best practices to help you adopt or strengthen electronic informed consent in large or small health research.
Fully understanding of participants can increase commitment and retention
In health research, informed consent is not a document that is read once, signed, and then put on hold. The informed consent process is the continuous experience of the researchers and participants during their participation in your program. When your consent process reaches the goal that participants fully understand their consent and the “why” and “how” they will participate in your research, you have successfully achieved the informed. This state of continuity is a clear determinant of long-term commitment and retention.
Virtual platform simplifies the complexity of eConsent
The virtual platform uses the conversational nature of information sharing to build specific workflows based on eligibility criteria and people, and create customized experiences to attract and educate participants when they decide to agree. They also ensure the standardization of information sharing-reducing the burden on your best research coordinators in case they forget to review important protocol elements or your latest research assistant is still understanding the nuances of the event schedule. If you are considering adopting or enhancing eConsent, please consider using a virtual platform to make the process easier.
Here are some ways to implement eConsent more effectively in your research organization:
- Assess participant qualifications
Include advance questions based on your inclusion and exclusion criteria. For different agreed versions based on responses, multiple branch workflows are enabled so that the correct version is presented to the correct participant at the correct time. Make sure you comply with consent and HIPAA regulations that may vary from state to state. The requirements based on the rules of different states can be programmed to reflect the bill of rights, expiration date, witness requirements, etc.
- “Block” the participant’s information into easy-to-understand parts
Eight seconds. This is the average human attention span. Still there? OK! We learn best from a little bit of information at a time. “Blocking” breaks the content down into manageable parts that participants can more easily understand. For example, in eConsent, the elements required for informed consent are broken down, where each part of the experience is a different part.
- Adapt to the learning styles of different participants
Think about your favorite story. Do you prefer to read a book or watch a movie? The learning styles of your different participants are also different. The best part of eConsent is the opportunity to share information using a hybrid approach. For example, this may require a short screen to present written content, followed by an informative video with closed captions. Using these formats alternately when presenting segmented information is the best practice for educating participants with different learning styles.
- Use “simple” language that suits your participants
The general rule of research is to locate information at the reading level of fifth to eighth grade. Ideally, you should also adapt to multiple languages, such as Spanish. When translating, you must not only adapt to the text, but also adapt to cultural fluency.
- Use knowledge checks to ensure that participants understand and are fully informed
Quizzes are a great way to scrutinize and reinforce key concepts related to the research that participants agree with. For important decisions or agreements involving genetic research, please provide decision support tools. This tool can help participants better categorize the pros and cons of their personal decisions, such as whether they choose to obtain DNA results. Most importantly, it can gain a richer understanding, thereby increasing your participant retention and participation rate.
- Simplify documentation for your participants
The virtual platform makes eConsent documents user-friendly. First, they will present a long form for participants to review and sign. They will also record the participant’s electronic signature and date, and immediately generate a PDF and email it to the participant. Participants can access their signed consent form at any time. These platforms also handle version control, so there is no outdated paper consent form, ensuring that the latest consent form can be easily uploaded after IRB approval, and reducing deviations.
- Promise to agree during the project
When new information is available and additional consent is required, make sure that it can be provided to participants quickly and easily in their accounts.
eConsent is a valuable tool that not only improves workflow efficiency for research organizations, but also enhances the participant’s experience. Elevate your informed consent process to the level of today’s virtual research environment. Use a trusted virtual platform to simplify the electronic consent form and help you gain the trust and knowledge of participants, thereby helping you keep your queue and realize your research results.
Photo: Elena Lukyanova, Getty Images
