Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine say clinical studies are an important way to advance public health knowledge, but finding participants can often be a challenge.
“It’s always reaching people, right, reaching a representative group of participants,” said Bettina Mittendorfer, the s chool’s senior associate dean for research. “There’s never an end to the research, I would say. Even if the study is over, we’ll start the next one.”
Mittendorfer is currently recruiting participants for a clinical study about the effects of protein on plugs that block arteries.
“Typically we think we eat too much fat, we eat too many carbohydrates, but we always leave the protein alone, because protein is (seen as) good, ” Mittendorfer said. “(But) overconsumption of any nutrient, including protein, is potentially harmful.”
If her study links high protein intake with heart disease, Mittendorfer said the results could impact future dietary guidelines — especially as society is going through a “protein craze.”
Since starting recruitment in the spring, however, Mittendorfer said she has only found about 20% of the required 20 participants. Part of the small number may be the study’s eligibility requirements, which require people to be 45-75 years old, non-smokers and overweight, she said.
Another potentially groundbreaking study about the need for antibiotics in cat bites is recruiting participants who have been bit by a cat on the hand or forearm within the last 24 hours. Current literature says 30-50% of all bites become infected, but owners frequently get bit without infection, said Dr. Kevin Klifto, a fourth-year plastic surgery resident who designed the study.
“We want to avoid antibiotic resistance. There aren’t as many antibiotics coming on the market as there were in the past,” Klifto said. “A lot of people have animals, so this is something that could potentially affect everyone.”
If his study can prove successful treatment with fewer days of antibiotics or none at all, antibiotic-based treatment could be avoided, he said. But after more than a year of recruiting, Klifto has only found eight of the required 45 participants.
“Public awareness is a pretty big thing,” Klifto said. “I had the most success when I went to the farmers market on Saturdays. I would just stand out in the parking lot and hand out flyers.”
MU School of Medicine recruitment efforts
To help with recruitment, the school’s Office of Medical Research created a position last year for a recruitment coordinator.
Emily Cantrell, who took the job, is tasked with helping researchers create Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved advertisements and running a participant registry that matches interested participants with studies.
“We want a wide representation in our participants,” Cantrell said, adding that she hopes to increase diversity in clinical studies by including people of color and people from a variety of socioeconomic statuses who have historically been left out.
Cantrell said participating in research studies can be helpful to people who are curious about receiving health evaluations or treatment — but per IRB guidelines, no diagnoses.
“You may get the results of the bone scan, your blood pressure, or even the results of the study — I find that’s really important to participants,” Cantrell said. “There’s always data to be had in research studies.”
Klifto’s study, for example, provides free wound care for cat bites.
Though the IRB prohibits advertising any direct benefit to participating in research, Cantrell said another incentive for many people is compensation. For Mittendorfer’s research, people are eligible to receive up to $1,000 because the study involves several visits and a 6-8 week commitment. Klifto’s study provides a $10 gift card to participants.
Mittendorfer said it is undeniable that money is a motivation for some, but most participants sign up for clinical studies out of altruistic reasons, especially if they have a family member who has been affected by disease.
“By enabling us to obtain this data, then we can have new insights into science,” Mittendorfer said. “Most of the research we do here is really very tangible. It isn’t as remote as many people think.”
To learn more about Klifto’s cat bite study, call 573-884-8176. To learn about Mittendorfer’s study, email heathermchatton@health.missouri.edu.
