New NEA Research: What Factors Influence Clinical Trial Participation for Eczema Patients

Clinical trials are a critical step in the discovery of new treatments for eczema. Before eczema treatments can become available to patients, they must go through a lengthy and rigorous process to make sure they are safe and effective. However, if people don’t join clinical trials, advancements in treatments can slow down.

In an attempt to understand what goes into this decision-making process, the research team at the National Eczema Association (NEA) conducted a survey to see what factors are most important to the eczema community when considering whether or not to participate in a clinical trial.

This new research, published in the June 2023 issue of Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, identifies key differences between how adult patients consider participation in clinical trials vs. how parents/caregivers decide if their child should participate in a clinical trial.

The 46-question survey was completed by 604 participants. Participants included adults with eczema and caregivers of children with eczema. The survey asked participants to rate the importance of various factors when considering clinical trial participation.

Key differences between caregivers and adult patients

“When considering clinical trial participation for their kids, caregivers placed more importance on factors that had to do with perceived safety or risk for their child,” said Jessica K. Johnson, co-author of the study and associate director of community research at NEA.

These factors might include the way a therapy is given (cream, pill, needle), if their child was asked to stop current eczema treatments, or if they will experience side effects from the test drug. These are possible barriers to enrolling kids in clinical trials.

Overall, the factor with the highest importance rating for caregivers was “having in-depth details on the purpose of the clinical trial and test drug,” whereas the most important rating for adult eczema patients was “having trust in the clinical trial doctor(s)/site.”

In addition, adult patients were able to care more about altruistic reasons to join a clinical trial, like helping the greater good, likely, since they were making the decision for themselves.

How the eczema community can use these findings

These findings show the value of creating clear, patient-centered education materials and resources during clinical trial recruitment. These resources may help eczema patients and caregivers understand the clinical trial better and aid in their decision-making process to participate in the clinical trial.

Research highlights

• Caregivers place higher importance on clinical trial factors that affect their child’s well-being.
• Most caregivers reported that they and the child must both agree on clinical trial participation.
• Both adults and caregivers rated the same factors as little or no importance in their decision making for clinical trials.
• Eczema severity and general understanding of clinical trials were similar between adults and caregivers.

Additional findings and insights from this study are expected to be published soon.

For more information about this study and other research conducted by NEA, visit NationalEczema.org/surveys.