Recruiting patients with Autism with direct-to-patient targeting, screening, and engagement support
Patient Recruitment for Autism Clinical Trials: Understanding Patient Perspectives
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect more than 75 million individuals worldwide, and it is known to affect 1 in 100 children. Thirteen ASD trials are expected to start in the next 12 months, and more than 120 are currently recruiting patients.
Clinical research plays a crucial part in understanding and approving treatment options for individuals with ASD, and the patient profile is nuanced with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, genetics, lifestyle factors, medical history, environmental factors, and psychosocial factors. This therapeutic area brief provides a look at the patient profile for Autism Spectrum Disorder and highlights why Direct-to-Patient advertising is an ideal approach for recruiting patients for clinical research in these conditions.
There is a significant genetic component to ASD, and there is a higher likelihood of ASD in siblings of children already diagnosed with the disorder. In addition to the genetic component, there are prenatal factors that have been associated with an increased risk, including maternal infections and exposure to certain medications.
Some studies indicate that certain dietary factors, such as maternal folic acid intake, may reduce the risk of ASD. Additionally, prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants, including air pollutants and pesticides, has been explored as a potential risk factor for ASD.
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder often experience difficulties in social communication and interaction, which are core characteristics of the condition. These challenges influence how they engage with others and understand social cues. Additionally, people with ASD frequently exhibit repetitive behaviors and have focused interests, often leading to established routines or an intense concentration on particular subjects or objects.
Socioeconomic factors can play a role in determining the availability and accessibility of early intervention services for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Moreover, some studies have explored how living in urban versus rural areas might affect the prevalence of ASD and the access to necessary services.
New treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are increasingly being designed with a patient-centric approach, involving collaboration with the autistic community to co-create interventions that foster a deeper, empathetic understanding of the autistic experience.
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder follow a fairly standard diagnostic and treatment pathway which typically begins with either the Primary Care Provider or the Pediatrician. From there, a more comprehensive assessment is undertaken by a Neuropsychiatrist, Child Psychiatrist, or Psychologist.
The treatment planning often involves a Speech Language Pathologist and Occupational Therapist depending on how ASD is impacting the individual. After diagnosis, individuals with ASD will typically engage in various interventions through Special Education Services or Behavioral Therapies and will be followed and supported in an ongoing fashion.
Thousands of individuals have participated in Autism research, either instead of or in addition to the standard treatment methodology. With clinical research, they often receive access to new therapies or treatments, as well as even more comprehensive monitoring and care.
For those with more limited access to healthcare, clinical research opens treatment pathways with a lower financial burden. There is also an understanding that they are contributing to scientific knowledge and advancing treatment possibilities for the condition.
Autism and ASD have been searched, on average, 718,000 times per month for the last year. With this condition, parents and caregivers are often turning first to online sources for information and education about their diagnosed or suspected condition as well as treatment and therapeutic management for the condition.
With that activity, an online profile begins to evolve, and by using sophisticated targeting and screening algorithms, Sponsors can put information about clinical research directly in front of people who are already seeking information outside of the traditional physician-led approach.
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AutoCruitment helps life sciences companies accelerate patient recruitment.
AutoCruitment’s technology-backed, full service, global, direct to patient digital advertising approach targets, recruits, and screens more of the right patients quickly to eliminate the patient recruitment bottleneck. The full clinical trial recruitment and enrollment process is seamless with AutoCruitment’s dedicated Project Management and Site & Patient Engagement teams, transparent, real-time reporting, and a secure user-friendly Patient Management Portal.
AutoCruitment’s patient recruitment platform supports Sponsors, CRO Partners and Research Sites by decreasing time, risk and cost to bring new therapies to market.
