How Facebook and Twitter Could Be the Next Disruptive Force in Clinical Trials

This article in Nature describes how clinical trials participants and their families are using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to communicate with each other—sometimes to the detriment of researchers. The online communities are part of a movement toward patient involvement in clinical-trial design, which clinical-trial sponsors generally welcome. But they also can disrupt the usual flow of information, such as when participants join forces to figure out who is receiving a study drug versus who is receiving a placebo. Some researchers worry that information sharing by participants could sink trials or weaken their findings.

Ledford H. How Facebook and Twitter could be the next disruptive force in clinical trials . Nature. 2018. Nov;563(7731):312-315.

8bbffada5c1e2b9bd574511c9d7f90d9 Recruit & Retain Participants 2019-01-31T00:00:00Z Barriers & Facilitators Participatory Research Trial Design Research Articles Social Media