Commentary on “A roadmap for the prevention of dementia II. Leon Thal Symposium 2008.” Recruitment of participants for Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: The role of trust in caregivers, clinical researchers, regulatory authorities, and industry sponsors

Abstract

A major barrier to progress in Alzheimer's disease treatment research is the increasingly difficult task of recruiting elderly participants into clinical trials. We conducted an anonymous online survey of 676 adults (average age, 50 years) to examine perceived trust in different components of our healthcare-delivery and clinical-research systems, as well as willingness to participate in clinical trials. Respondents indicated the greatest amount of trust in family members, followed by family physicians. Only 3% of respondents “completely” trusted clinical researchers, whereas 62% of respondents trusted them “somewhat” to care for them during the course of a clinical trial. Trust in clinical researchers was modestly negatively correlated with income ( r = −0.165, P < .001), but was not significantly related to sex, race, or education. Respondents indicated the least amount of trust in industry sponsors, followed by regulatory authorities.