CISCRP’s 2025 Perceptions & Insights Study – Trust, Drivers of Participation, & Retention
In this interview, we explore the metrics, trends, and real-world decisions informed by CISCRP’s Perceptions & Insights Study - one of the industry’s most comprehensive, longitudinal benchmarks of public attitudes toward clinical trials.
Attendees will leave with practical frameworks and the exclusive insights available at the 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit which can then be taken back and used to strengthen engagement across the entire trial journey. From awareness and trust to burden, satisfaction, and post-trial communication, this session offers data‑driven clarity at a moment when teams are under pressure to build more inclusive, transparent, and participant‑centred research experiences.
What Specific Metrics, KPIs, or Measurement Approaches Will You Be Sharing in Your Session?
The session will highlight longitudinal, population-level metrics from CISCRP’s 2025 Perceptions & Insights Study, including measures of clinical trial awareness, understanding, trust, willingness to participate, and satisfaction with participation. Key KPIs include trust in pharmaceutical companies versus other organizations involved in clinical research, drivers of participation and retention (e.g., perceived benefit, compensation, convenience), sources of perceived burden during participation (such as travel and biopsies), and perceived importance of post-trial information return. The study also tracks trends over time (2015–2025) and examines subgroup differences by region, education level, race/ethnicity, and prior trial experience, providing a robust benchmark for industry performance.
What Concrete Tools, Frameworks, or Outputs Will Attendees Walk Away With?
Attendees will leave with practical benchmarking insights they can use to assess their own patient engagement strategies against global norms. This includes a clear framework for understanding what matters most to participants at different stages of the trial lifecycle, from awareness and decision-making, to retention, to post-study communication. The findings also offer actionable guidance on where engagement efforts break down (e.g., eligibility barriers, lack of follow-up, logistical burden) and where targeted interventions, such as improved education, logistical support, and transparency, can have the greatest impact.
Can You Share One Example of How These Metrics Influenced a Real Decision?
One clear example comes from retention and burden metrics. The data consistently show that logistical factors such as travel time, visit length, and biopsies are among the top sources of burden, while convenience-related supports (closer-to-home visits, flexible scheduling, compensation) are strong retention drivers. These findings have encouraged sponsors to consider investments in hybrid and decentralized elements, travel and reimbursement support, and flexible visit scheduling options, particularly for participants who live farther from research sites.
What Is One Common Mistake Teams Make When Trying to Measure Patient Engagement?
One common mistake is relying too heavily on single-point or operational metrics, such as enrollment numbers, without capturing the full patient experience over time. Findings from CISCRP’s Perceptions & Insights (P&I) Study show that engagement is influenced by factors like awareness, trust, education, and post-trial communication, not just recruitment success. Another frequent gap is failing to segment data by prior trial experience or demographic subgroups, which can obscure meaningful differences in needs, barriers, and expectations. Additionally, teams often expect a clear, immediate ROI from engagement activities, when in reality the impact is not always directly or linearly measurable (for example, patient input on an informed consent form may improve understanding and trust without directly increasing enrollment).
Why Is This Topic Particularly Important for Teams Right Now?
This topic is especially timely because the study shows declining awareness and understanding of clinical research among the public, alongside persistent trust gaps - particularly with pharmaceutical companies. At the same time, participants who do take part in trials continue to report high satisfaction and strong willingness to participate again. This disconnect underscores a critical opportunity: improving education, transparency, and outreach could significantly expand and diversify participation, while strengthening trust and long-term engagement in an increasingly competitive clinical research landscape.
What Are You Most Looking Forward to at the Summit?
I’m most looking forward to connecting these large-scale patient insights with real-world implementation, and hearing how peers across industry, advocacy, and research are responding to similar challenges. The summit is a valuable opportunity to move beyond theory and discuss practical, patient-informed solutions, particularly around trust-building, inclusive engagement, and returning value to participants throughout and after the trial experience. I’m also looking forward to learning directly from our patient advocate partner about her perspective on these study findings as well as her lived experience as a clinical trial participant.
Don’t Miss Out
Learn more about the summit this May by accessing the event brochure here. Additionally, tickets are currently available so if your team are looking to attend this year’s meeting, don’t delay and register today.