One of the advantages in coming to UF Health for care is the ability to participate in clinical trials. We’ve had the ability on our site to show these research studies for many years, but there have been significant barriers for patients – academic language, difficulty in determining if they are eligible, and a complicated process to agree to participate. Our new site addresses these issues to make it easier for people in need.
Clinical Trial Eligibility
Clinical trial information is now pulled directly from the OnCore registry. This feed gives our site access to additional details and information that enables us to build a dashboard that makes it easier for patients to determine if they can participate in a study:
- The current status of the trial and if it is looking for participants
- Age and sex of participants
- The time commitment to participate in the study
- The location for the study
Plain-Language Study Description
Current health literacy guidelines recommend that medical content should be written at a sixth to seventh grade reading level for the general public. Clinical trials descriptions are often written at a much more academic level, requiring a college or postgraduate education to be able to comprehend the purpose of the study.
Our new clinical trial listings provide for writing a plain-language description of a clinical trial, in addition to the academic overview. This will make it easier to communicate the purpose and goals of our trials to patients so they can better determine if the study is right for them.
Streamlined Contact Process
The new clinical trial page provides a step-by-step process on how to apply to be considered as a participant. The format helps to provide clarity on a complicated process that often created confusion for potential applicants.
Study Listings
UFHealth.org pulls study data from OnCore, a protocols management system. We pull select fields for studies that meet the following criteria: Open to Accrual, and labeled as Interventional. For studies that have an NCTID number, we can fill missing information in OnCore with data from Clinicaltrials.gov. Updates and revisions to study listings content must be made in OnCore or on Clinicaltrials.gov. The OnCore support team can help you add plain-language descriptions, eligibility requirements, short title and more within the OnCore system. They can also help tag the study with health encyclopedia titles so that your study can be linked from various health content within UFHealth.org. You can contact the OnCore support team through their website.