Investigating recruitment and retention strategies in atopic dermatitis clinical trials: A cross-sectional analysis

Objective: This study aims to investigate recruitment and retention strategies in Atopic Dermatitis (AD) clinical trials.

Background: AD is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory dermatologic condition marked by erythematous, pruritic lesions. Multiple factors like psychological stress, lifestyle factors, and socioeconomic determinants influence disease progression and treatment outcomes globally. Clinical trials evaluating AD interventions face challenges in recruitment and retention of underserved patient populations, potentially compromising the generalizability of findings to wider populations.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis following PRISMA guidelines to assess recruitment and retention strategies in AD clinical trials. The relevant clinical trials were acquired in a comprehensive search of MEDLINE (PubMed) and Embase (Elsevier) on May 28, 2024. Data were extracted from trials published between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2023. For statistical analysis, Stata 18 SE (StataCorpStataCorp LLC, College Station, TX) was used to determine the frequencies of recruitment and retention strategies.

Results: Of the 32 trials analyzed, only 4/32 (12.5%) integrated recruitment strategies to include underrepresented populations and only 4/32 (12.5%) had planned diversity goals to improve recruitment. Three out of the 32 (9.4%) studies reported challenges with recruitment.

Conclusion: Our study highlights the need for inclusive recruitment and retention strategies in AD clinical trials. The lack of diverse representation in clinical trials can contribute to obstacles in medical research and can eventually prevent advancements in treatment outcomes. It is essential to address these gaps to ensure the external validity of research findings and to improve treatment outcomes.